


Only a Job

by Dreamer1701



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Awesome Pepper Potts, Bodyguard Romance, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, F/M, Famous Pepper, Protective Tony Stark, Stark Industries, no superpowers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-16
Updated: 2021-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-18 22:28:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 25,022
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29497323
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dreamer1701/pseuds/Dreamer1701
Summary: Pepper Potts is standing before the biggest challenge of her whole career when she receives threats. They hire the security company of Tony Stark, who will function as her bodyguard from now on. Will he be able to keep her safe and fight his growing feelings for her? And what will she think of him? Is he not so bad after all? PEPPERONY
Relationships: Pepper Potts/Tony Stark
Comments: 6
Kudos: 18





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone, this is my new story about Tony and Pepper! In short, Pepper is famous and Tony is her bodyguard. I won't tell you more, it's not like those cliché bodyguard stories you always read, at least I hope so! The first chapter is rather an introduction, after that, everthing will start. By now, this has four chapters and I'll post them all here soon. I'm trying to update at least once a week, though I can't promise it. I hope you can be patient. 
> 
> I don't own the characters or places!

Pepper

“No, Joe, it doesn't work like that! I can't just leave now. I'm _working_.” I said into the phone and glanced at the clock. It was four in the afternoon. If I didn't leave in the next five minutes, I would be late for my appointment with the press this evening. I couldn't afford that. Not now. Not after I'd come so far. 

“ _Baby, you always say that._ ” Joe sighed. “ _Why can't you relax?_ _You're always so stressed, it can't be good for you._ ” He sounded annoyed, something I got used to in the past months. 

“Relax?” I laughed dryly. “I don't have time for that. Look, we should talk again later. I've got to leave now. There's this important appointment this evening...” I stood up and started to collect my things from the table. “I don't want to be late.”

“ _Sometimes, I wonder why we're still together at all._ ” Joe muttered and even through the phone I could hear the sad tone of his voice. I had already reached the door of the hotel room, but then I hesitated. 

“What do you mean?” I asked quietly, trying to process the meaning of his words.

“ _You don't care about me anymore. Not since you started your career!_ ” Now he sounded frustrated. “ _We barely see each other and when we do, you just talk about your job. It's like nothing else matters. You never even ask how_ my _day was or what I've been doing!_ ” 

It was true. We saw each other about once a month and if we did, I always kept telling him stories about my life. Or I was too tired to even talk at all. My work was taking all my strength. Until now, I just didn't realize it. “I'm sorry, but I'm sure it will get better -”

“ _It won't!_ ” He interrupted me harshly. “ _You don't care about me anymore, Virginia! Don't say that you do, I know it would be a lie._ ” 

“Joe...” I started hesitantly, but didn't know what to say. I glanced at the clock again. I had to leave now, otherwise I'd really be too late. “We can figure this out, let's talk later, after the interview.”

“ _What if I don't want to talk to you about it?_ ” His cold tone surprised me. Normally, he never reacted like this. I always thought that he understood how important the job was for me. “ _Shouldn't you leave? You might be late if I steal more of your time._ ” 

I breathed in deeply. “Fine. Goodbye, Joe.” I ended the call and left the hotel room. Now I really had to hurry. On my way downstairs, I thought of the conversation again. Joe and I had been together for nearly four years by now. We'd met at university and it didn't take long until we were together. He was the love of my life. Or at least that's what I thought back then. Right now, I wasn't so sure anymore. Because he was right, I realized. I didn't even know what he was doing right now! Just that he'd started to work for this advertisement company, but that had been months ago...

I left the hotel and breathed in the cold air. I couldn't think of my personal life right now. I had to remain professional. The car was already waiting for me and once I sat down in the back, the driver started to manoeuvrer through the crowded streets of New York.

“What took you so long?” My manager, Phil, asked. “You wanted to be here ten minutes ago! We're going to be late.”

“I'm sorry, Phil. It won't happen again.” I hoped that he wouldn't ask what had caused my delay, but I knew I wouldn't be that lucky.

“You look troubled. What happened?” I was working together with Phil Coulson for over two years by now, but we had known each other much longer. He was like a part of my family.

“Joe called me.” I sighed. “He doesn't understand that this is so important to me. He keeps insisting that I should come home and spend more time with him.”

Phil frowned. “He knows that you're busy at the moment. Now it is very important to work hard. It never seemed to bother him before. I always thought he supported you.”

“That's what I thought as well.” I muttered and looked out of the window thoughtfully. “Seems like I was wrong.”

“Virginia...” Phil said hesitantly and placed a hand on my arm. “I'm here if you want to talk about it. However, it might not be a good idea to do it now. The interview -”

“Is really important, I know.” I ended his sentence and turned to him. After another deep breath, I had gained control over myself again and pushed all thoughts of Joe away. I would deal with that later. “So what do you have for me?” I pointed at the papers he was still holding.

“More requests for interviews. There's also that important meeting in LA next week, the one where the next steps will be discussed.” He hesitated only for a few moments, but I noticed it anyway. “And you got more letters.”

I raised my eyebrows. “Just like the ones before?”

He grimaced. “Worse.”

That made me pause. “How can it be worse?”

“Let's just say the threats are getting more graphic. Not just announcing violence but also describing what they want to do.” He sighed. “They want you to step back.”

“They always want that.” I muttered. “Nothing to be worried about.” I decided after a few more moments. “Ever since I started my career, I got those letters. They always talk very much, but so far, nothing happened. Those are just empty words.” I said with a look at the letters in Phil's hand.

“I'm not so sure anymore.” Phil threw in. “Maybe we should take precautionary measures.”

“Such as?” The scepticism in my voice was obvious.

“A friend has recommended a very good security company. They do everything. Monitoring, surveillance, research, personal security. It's expensive, but I think it would be worth it. We can't risk that something happens to you now.” He sounded worried and I smiled calmingly.

“I know that you're concerned, but you're overreacting, Phil. Nothing will happen to me. Those people just want to scare me.” He didn't look convinced, but he nodded.

“I hope you're right.” For some time, we were both silent. I tried not to get lost in thoughts again. I had to focus on the interview that was going to come. It should be easy. Talking about my job and my motives for some time. Nothing else. Trying to charm people. I hoped that I wouldn't look tense. The conversation with Joe was still bothering me, even if I tried to avoid thinking of it.

To distract myself, I reached for the mirror in my bag and checked my appearance. Long, red hair that fell over my shoulders in soft curls. Green eyes, surrounded my makeup. Not too much, of course, I had to look serious. Red lips, not too dark or shiny. The white blouse was also clean and in place. Just like my necklace, the one I got from my parents so many years ago. It was my lucky charm.

I breathed in deeply and finally, I was able to let go of all my negative emotions. This evening, I would make a good impression. People would like me and what I was going to say. Everything would work out.

“We're there.” Phil announced when the car stopped. “Are you ready? Lots of people are out there.”

I nodded. “Let them come.” I said with a smile. After one last deep breath, I got out of the car.

The reporters were surrounding me immediately. Many of them were just taking photos, but a few also tried to talk to me.

“Ms. Potts, what will the interview be about? Will you discuss your new plans?”

“Are you nervous because of what's going to come?”

“Ms. Potts, please wait. You've made a very important decision concerning your life. Do you regret your choice of career already or do you still enjoy your work?”

“Of course she's enjoying her work!” Another person snapped at the last question. “Otherwise, she wouldn't be here!”

I ignored all those people and was glad when the door of the studio shut behind us.

“Everything alright?” Phil asked quietly.

I nodded. “I thought that I would be used to this by now.”

He chuckled. “I think you'll never get used to it.”

“Ms. Potts, it's a pleasure to have you here!” A loud voice interrupted our short conversation. It was a tall, dark haired woman who walked towards us, smiling widely. “You're such an inspiration to all of us here. My name is Nora and I'm going to show you your personal area. There, you can relax again before the interview. You have about thirty minutes left.”

I smiled at her gratefully. “That would be awesome, Nora.” She wasn't the type of woman who tried to make useless conversation and I was glad about it. I tried not to show it, but secretly I was nervous. I always was before events like this.

The thirty minutes passed faster than expected. Then Nora showed me the way to the studio.

“Today, we have a very special guest. Please welcome Ms. Virginia Potts...”

I breathed in deeply and entered the room with a wide smile on my lips.

* * *

“It's so good to be home.” I muttered and opened my eyes.

“You should enjoy your time here. It won't last long.” Phil said calmly.

“I know.” I sighed. “But it's also good that things are finally happening. We've worked so hard to get here.”

“It will be worth it.” I always envied Phil for his endless optimism. The car stopped and I smiled, happy to be home. I just closed the door of the car when I heard Phil gasp in shock.

I turned around and froze. My bag was falling to the ground, but I barely noticed it. I was looking at my house, but it didn't look like it anymore. The white walls were dirty, windows were smashed and the front door was open. I ignored the warning voices of Phil and the driver and ran inside. Everything was destroyed.

Then Phil was next to me and wrapped his arms around my shoulders, pushing me outside again. I heard that our driver Happy was calling the police, but I didn't care. My whole life was destroyed. So the threats had been real after all.

* * *

Hours later, I was sitting in a hotel room on the couch, right next to Phil. He'd placed a blanket over me and handed me a cup of tea. I was still trying to process what happened to my home and smiled at him gratefully.

“The police called. It's not as bad as it looked. Apparently, nothing was stolen. They just destroyed as much as possible in a short amount of time, mostly mirrors...” He sighed. “I'm so sorry, Virginia. And there's something else, but maybe you should see it later...”

“Show me.” I whispered.

“You're not feeling well right now...”

“Show me!” At my loud voice, he flinched. Then he pulled his phone out of his pocket and showed me a single picture. It was my bedroom and there was a piece of paper hanging on the wall directly above the bed. _You'll die._ Only those words and nothing else. 

Was this also an empty threat or real? My heart was beating fast in my chest, but I wasn't sure if I should be afraid or angry at the people who did this.

“I'm not going to back off.” I whispered.

“No one expects you to.” Phil said softly. “I called the security company.”

At this, I closed my eyes. I didn't want help, but couldn't stop noticing that I might need it. This looked more serious than I liked. “Which one?”

“It's called Stark Industries.”

I frowned. “And you're sure that it's a security company?”

He nodded. “They also produce systems for surveillance. The other parts of the business were included later.”

That didn't sound very promising, but I kept quiet. Phil saw my doubts, but he didn't say anything. Instead, he turned on the TV.

“ _Today, we have a very special guest._ ” Was the first announcement we heard. _“Please welcome Ms. Virginia Potts from California, who's running for president this year!_ ” 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's also the second chapter!
> 
> I don't own the characters or places!

Tony

“This is so boring.” I muttered and looked up from the screen of my laptop. “They're not doing anything.”

“We've been here for about thirty minutes now. Be patient.” Rhodey groaned and looked at me with annoyance on his face.

“I _am_ patient.” I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. 

“No, you're not.” He threw in. “I'm your best friend, I know you, Tony.” Rhodey leaned back in his seat and took the laptop from me. “They're doing something, by the way.”

“They're talking, nothing else. That doesn't help us. Especially since we can't see their faces. No chance to recreate what they're saying.”

“It looks like they've got an argument.” Rhodey said thoughtfully.

“Why did we ever agree on those surveillance jobs?” I sighed. “They're a waste of time.”

“You didn't have to come with me. I would have been fine alone.”

“The alternative would have been even worse.” Then, I would have to read stupid love letters to find out which guy wanted to kidnap his girlfriend, or at least threatened to do so.

“Don't let Steve and Bucky hear that.” Rhodey muttered, his eyes fixed on the screen which showed the live records of our camera we'd placed close to the house we were watching. “Couldn't you just continue inventing that new security system you've been working on for months now?”

I shook my head. “I'm waiting for the delivery of new components. Without a new hard disk, it won't work properly.”

Now Rhodey turned to me and raised his eyebrows. “You didn't threaten the supplier yet because that thing is nearly two weeks late by now?”

“I did. He just didn't understand how important this is. I would have bought it somewhere else, but unfortunately, they are the only ones who produce those things.”

“Just because you insist on buying the most expensive stuff.” Rhodey muttered.

“I'm buying the _best_ stuff, so that everything's going to work.” I emphasized. “The price doesn't matter.” 

“Then call him again, maybe it will work once you start harassing them.”

I rolled my eyes at this suggestion. “Then they'll delete my costumer profile.”

“They won't. After all, no one buys as much stuff as you do. And besides, you could also hack into their servers and restore the data.” He said with a grin.

“Would work if the owner of the company wouldn't have something that's called a memory.” I grimaced. “He can be very resentful.”

Now Rhodey's eyes were fixed on the screen again and I leaned closer to see what's going on. “Uh, they're still talking!”

“She was about to throw a vase at him. I think you missed that.”

I leaned back in my seat and groaned. “This is really so boring. We need an interesting job.”

“We had one. It was finished two days ago, remember?” Rhodey said calmly. “Maybe you should just relax, Tony. It would be good for you.”

“Easier said than done.” I muttered and crossed my arms. “You know that I need my work to be happy.”

“If you say so...” He didn't sound convinced. “What about that girl you were going out with lately? Why don't you meet her again?”

“You mean Sandra?” I asked with a frown.

“Tony, her name was Emilia.” Rhodey glanced at me. “Did you already forget that?”

I shrugged. “Well, I might have drunk a little too much...”

“You're hopeless.” Rhodey muttered, but I could see concern on his face. He always thought that I was too lonely.

“She wasn't even interesting.” I tried weakly.

“Because you didn't talk to her.” He stated. “You just -”

“You know that we don't talk about that stuff at work!” I interrupted him quickly.

Rhodey sighed. “You know that I only want what's best for you. You're working too much. You could really use someone in your life again. Your breakup with Natasha has been years ago.”

“Let's not talk about this.” I decided and took the laptop from him. “Look, they're still arguing.”

He stared at me darkly, but after a few moments, he also concentrated on the job again. It turned out that they seemed to have a very long argument. In the end, she really threw that vase at him, but missed. It shattered on the ground which made her cry.

“How can you always do this?” I asked Rhodey.

“Not everyone hates surveillance as much as you do.” He said simply.

I just opened my mouth to reply something when my phone rang. I smiled slightly. “Sorry, I've got to answer that.”

I jumped out of the van we'd been sitting in and started to walk down the street. “Tony Stark, Stark Industries. How can I help you?” I asked once I answered the call. When the person told me why he was calling, I froze. Seemed like we would get an interesting job again soon.

I walked back to the van and opened the door. “Will you be fine without me?” I asked and couldn't stop myself from grinning in excitement. “I've got to do some research. Seems like we've been offered an interesting job. I'll state the facts this evening.”

Rhodey nodded. “Alright, at six as always?”

“I'll inform Steve and Bucky as well.” I wanted to shut the door again, but Rhodey called my name again.

“She threw another vase at him.” He grinned.

I shook my head. “Some people are just hopeless.” I muttered. “Remind me not to take jobs from them ever again.”

“I can do that.”

Then we both started to laugh.

* * *

“So what's this mysterious job about?” Steve asked, a curious look on his face. “You didn't tell us anything yet.”

“That's because I had to inform myself first. I only got the basics over the phone.” I explained. We were sitting at a small desk at the Stark Industries headquarter in New York. On the table, we had lots of coffee, pens and paper. Every time we discussed a new job, each of us wrote down his thoughts and we talked about them. Most of the time, we worked as a team. However, we also got smaller jobs for which we separated into smaller groups or even worked alone. Like today with the surveillance.

“It's a big job, isn't it?” Bucky threw in. “Otherwise, you wouldn't be this excited.”

“He's always excited when he can work again.” Rhodey muttered.

“So will you tell us what it is now?” Slowly, Steve was getting impatient.

I held up my hands. “Alright, I'll tell you everything I found out.” The four of us were a really good team and got along very well. Which also included lots of teasing, swearing and arguing. Just like now. I was the head of the group and responsible for the technical stuff. Everything we used was invented by me and worked perfectly. Steve was our expert when it came to self defence. Rhodey always did the surveillance stuff because he was the most patient one of us. Another one of his strengths was strategics. And Bucky was an expert when it came to weapons. Ever since we started doing big, important jobs, we had to deal with them more often than we'd like. Of course we all could do every kind of job. We were all-rounders, but each of us had his strengths. Most of the time, we tried to use them to our advantage.

I placed a photograph on the table. “What does this face tell you?” It showed the face of a woman. Red hair, green eyes, freckles. She was smiling and looked excited. I thought that she was quite beautiful.

The others frowned at the picture. “Isn't she some kind of politician?” Rhodey asked.

“I think I've seen her on TV lately, but I'm not so sure.” Bucky muttered.

“She's running for President.” Steve said and I pointed at him.

“That's right.” I agreed. “Maybe you should start watching the news, guys.” I said to Rhodey and Bucky. “This is Virginia Potts, also called Pepper. The nickname was invented by her haters and she seems to have lots of them.”

I cleared my throat. “But let's start at the beginning. She's from LA, studied political science. Politically active since her youth, joined the Democrats during her studies. After that, she worked for a newspaper, but wasn't happy there. Then, she started teaching political science at a university in Los Angeles. She became popular because of her opinion considering environmental questions like climate change. Next to that, especially women admire her since she's demanding more rights for them. She wants to stop discrimination because of someone's sexuality, skin colour or origin. There are many more things I could tell you about her political career, but that would take ages. It's all on this sheet of paper, you can read it later.” I placed it on the table.

“Her manager called me and asked for help.” I placed another paper on the table which showed information about Phil Coulson. “He said that Ms. Potts got letters with threatening content ever since it was announced that she would run for President. First, they thought that it were just empty words. But someone broke into her house, destroyed as much as possible and placed a death thread on the wall above her bed.” I also had a photo of that. “It seems to be more serious than they first thought.”

“Is it written in blood?” Rhodey asked and reached for the picture.

“Red colour.” I said. “If the police got that right.”

“I'd doubt that...” Bucky muttered. His eyes were fixed on the information about Virginia Potts. We all knew that Bucky didn't have much faith in the police. He'd started his career as a police officer, but wasn't happy there. Thanks to his friendship with Steve, he found his way to Stark Industries. Without him, a few of our jobs would have gone wrong in the past.

“What are they asking for?” Steve raised his eyebrows.

“Personal security as well as surveillance. If it's possible, we should also find the people who wrote those letters and make sure that it won't happen again.” I explained shortly.

“Sounds like lots of work.” Steve muttered and I nodded.

“But I'm sure we could make it work.”

“But why are they asking us? I mean, she's running for President. I bet they could have more security than we can offer. After all, we're just four people.” Rhodey threw in.

“Coulson has heard that we're the best.” I grinned at that. “And they don't want to make it public that she's threatened. Could ruin her reputation and make the people doubt her. It should be as inconspicuous as possible.”

I showed them another file. “That's her schedule for the next weeks. She's really busy. Appointments in many different states, you know that stuff. They need to make lots of advertisement and she has to be seen.”

“How long should we do all this?” Bucky asked incredulously. “It's March and they're voting when? October?”

“November.” I corrected him. “I know that it's a long time, but it'll be worth it.”

They all just looked at me sceptically. I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. “I've also done some research on the current opinions of the people. They like her and her chances aren't that bad.”

“Isn't her opponent Jeremy Sattler?” Steve asked. “That small, blond guy with the big glasses from Ohio?”

“Yeah, he is.” I also had a file about him. “His political attitude is completely different than hers. He doesn't talk about rights or the environment that much. More about the country, how the trade can get better, unemployment, all that stuff. I stopped reading at some point.”

The others still looked sceptical. “We could do many jobs in eight months.” Rhodey began slowly. “So why should we do it? I mean, she might not even win the election. And it will be lots of work.”

“Here's our payment.” When I showed them the next paper, they all gasped.

“That much?” Steve asked and looked at me with wide eyes.

“Well, if we also have to pay our equipment and all the travelling, there won't be much left...” Bucky said thoughtfully.

“They'll give us everything we need.” I cut in. “That's what will be left in the end.”

They gasped again.

“What are we waiting for?” Rhodey asked and glanced at the numbers again. “I mean, we would need at least four years to earn that much. Let's take the job!”

“I still don't see how we can manage that. We're just four people.” Bucky still didn't sound convinced, but he also looked at the papers on the table.

“We'll do it as always. With lots of planning.” I exclaimed. “However, I fear that we'll have to split up. It would be far too obvious when four people are with her all the time.” I took a pen and an empty sheet of paper. “There are three important points. Ms. Potts' personal safety, the letters and whoever sent them, as well as the assaults on her house.” I wrote it down. “I think the house won't be too difficult, one of our security systems should do the job. Then the letters and her safety are left.”

“How will we do that? Two people being with her all the time and the others are trying to find out as much as possible about the letters?” Rhodey asked.

“We've also got to keep an eye on her opponents.” Steve threw in thoughtfully. “Maybe they're involved in all this.”

“Someone who's running for President wouldn't threaten his opponent.” Rhodey said doubtfully.

“He wouldn't do it himself.” I pointed at Steve. “Good point.” I added it to the list.

“Can't you find out something about the letters, Tony? After all, you're our technical genius.” Bucky looked at me questioningly.

“They sent them with the post. Those are real letters, made of paper. Impossible to follow.” I grimaced. “I hate old-fashioned people.”

“They're doing this on purpose.” Steve muttered.

“Of course they do!” I sighed. “We'll have to do it in the old-fashioned way as well. Which means lots of surveillance. We need to know everything about the people she's dealing with. And about the people they're dealing with.”

“I assume that will be my job?” Rhodey asked curiously. I was glad that he looked rather excited than annoyed. If we took this job, we would all have to be one-hundred percent sure. Otherwise, too many things could go wrong. A life might be depending on our work.

“You won't be able to do that alone.” I looked at the others thoughtfully. “I think someone has to be with her all the time, while the others switch jobs. We can't let her out of sight if that threat is real.”

“So Steve will be with her while we're doing all the work?” Bucky asked. “He's our best fighter and can defend her from possible threats.”

“But that's not everything that counts.” I threw in. “The person who's with her needs to fit into that society. He's got to know very much about politics and has to be able to talk to those people. He has to be a good actor. Otherwise, people might get suspicious. She'll have to make others believe that he's someone who's working with her. You can't just follow her around like a lost puppy.” With the last sentence, I was referring to another job where Steve had been a bodyguard. It had been obvious that he'd been watching over that girl, everyone could see it.

“I don't think that I'll feel well among those people.” Now Steve looked uncomfortable. “You know how bad I'm at dealing with others I don't know. And I don't know much about politics. Just the basics from TV, and not even very well.”

“So who will do it then?” As soon as Bucky asked that questions, the others all turned to me with expectant looks on their faces.

I sighed. “Why did I already see that coming?” I muttered and nodded. “Alright, I'll do it. It can't be that bad, can it?”

“Unless she's really as self-obsessed, temperamental and egoistic as people say.” Rhodey threw in.

I narrowed my eyes. “You're not helping.”

“That's why she got her nickname, isn't it?” Steve asked. “Pepper. Because of the temperament and the red hair.”

“Maybe she's not so bad after all.” I muttered, but wasn't convinced. My eyes wandered to the picture of Pepper Potts, which was still lying on the table. Could I be with her for months? I was used to uncomfortable jobs and people, so that wasn't the problem. So why was I still hesitating? 

My instincts wanted to tell me something, but I couldn't quite grasp it. It was the feeling that something wouldn't go as planned. Not at all. However, I pushed that feeling away and smiled widely at the others.

“Should I call Mr. Coulson and tell him that we're coming to LA?”


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't own the characters or places!

Pepper

“I don't understand. Why can't they start cleaning up and repairing everything now?” I asked impatiently. “They're also getting new windows.”

“Tony Stark and his team want to have a look at the situation first.” Phil tried to calm me down. “They're just doing the windows because of the weather. It might snow tonight.”

“One should think that it would be getting warmer in March... It's never been this cold here.” I muttered and crossed my arms. “So once they had a look at everything, the evidence that those people broke into my house can be cleared away?”

Phil nodded calmingly. “It will be as if nothing happened.” Just that I knew that those people had been in my house. Could I forget that or would it feel weird to be in there again? Especially since I wouldn't be alone. At least one employee of Stark Industries would have to stay with me all the time. Unfortunately, Phil couldn't tell me who it would be yet. He'd been told the basics, nothing else. One man would stay with me as my bodyguard, disguised as a political partner. Maybe from another state, I wasn't so sure. The others would make sure that no one bothered me again, tried to manipulate our plans for the campaign or wrote letters. Of course they'd also try to find out who was responsible for this.

I was curious how that should work, considering that the team only consisted of four people. I voiced my doubts to Phil, but he just laughed. “Don't worry about that. They know what they're doing.”

I frowned at him doubtfully. “Maybe your friend who'd told you about them was wrong? I mean, four people for a job like this?” Not to mention that I hated having strangers around.

“It will be fine, Virginia. I'm sure of that.”

“For you, it's easy to say that. After all, I'm the one who'll have to deal with a stranger all the time. What if I don't even like my bodyguard? Or if he doesn't like me?” By now, I really doubted that contacting a security company had been a good idea. I didn't need a babysitter. I was living my own life.

“I was told that they're all very nice. You're worrying too much.” Phil was always so calm. Sometimes, I envied him for that. “And there's no way they won't like you. Everyone does.” He winked.

I sighed. “That's not true and you know it.” I looked at the clock and sighed. “We'll have to leave soon, won't we?”

Phil nodded. “We'll meet the team at your house. There, the risk to be seen is the smallest. People are keeping an eye on you, especially after the interview, which was a full success, by the way. You were stunning.”

Yesterday at this time, that statement would have thrilled me. Right now, I just nodded silently. How did my life get so complicated in such a short time? First those letters, then the argument with Joe and then my house...

Oh no. I didn't tell Joe what happened to the house. Or about the bodyguard. He wouldn't like that at all. Especially that another man was going to spend so much time with me. He used to react jealous very fast...

I thought of our argument again. He said that I didn't care for him. Until he'd mention it, I didn't even realize how true it was. I couldn't think of anything else than the election. I had to win this, it was so important to me. Next to that, I forgot everything. Even my boyfriend.

He wasn't living in LA anymore. A few months before I'd decided that I wanted to try running for President, he'd moved to San Francisco because of his work. The advertisement company I didn't know very much about. It had been his dream to do something in that direction. Ever since, we only saw each other a few times a month, mostly on weekends. Since the campaign started, it had been about once a month. The last time had been about five weeks ago. Actually, he wanted to visit me this week. Just that we didn't talk about those plans anymore because of that argument.

Should I call him and ask if everything was alright? Then, I would also have to tell him about the threats. I'd be talking about myself again, which he hated so much... Or which annoyed him at least.

Did I still love Joe? I thought of the past four years with him. First, it had been like a dream. We'd met at the university where I'd been teaching political science. He had also been a professor there, his subject had been computer science. One day at lunch, he was just standing in front of me, that charming smile on his lips, and asked if he could sit with me. I agreed, a little insecure. It turned out that my doubts had been unnecessary. We got along very well and a few weeks later, we were already together. We never argued and soon, he moved in with me. I had inherited a big house from my parents. Everything was perfect.

Then he'd decided to go to San Francisco. I knew that it was his dream, so I supported him as best as I could. I never let him know how hard his departure had been for me. I hated showing emotions in front of others. The idea with the election had been hanging in the air even before Joe's departure, but he'd just laughed at it. Maybe that's why I had worked so hard for it.

It was my dream. Being able to make changes in this world. Having people listening to me and supporting my ideas. That's why I had been interested in politics since my youth.

The path to where I was today had been long and hard. Years of work next to teaching at the university, long nights and even longer days. Did I regret it? Absolutely not.

And here I was again. My dreams.

So what about Joe?

I had to admit that I wasn't sure if I still loved him.

“Only one way to find out.” I muttered and opened his contact on my phone. I pressed the 'call' button before I could change my mind again.

He answered after the second call. “ _Hey baby._ ” He greeted me. In the background, I heard music. “ _How are you?_ ”

“Hey, I'm fine. What about you?” I was glad that Phil had left the room. I didn't want him to hear this conversation.

“ _You don't sound fine._ ” I could hear the frown in his voice. “ _What happened?_ ”

“I asked how you are first.” I threw in. “And I want to apologize. I know that I've been an idiot those past months.”

He sighed. “ _I wasn't that nice as well. I know how important this is to you. I should have supported you instead of being so mean. I saw that interview on TV. You were great._ ”

“Thank you. I was so nervous.”

“ _No one noticed it, baby._ ” I'd always hated that nickname, but it had never bothered me before. Right now, it did. “ _I just came home from work. We're still looking for new costumers. I think this could be really great._ ”

“You have to tell me everything about it.” I said, trying to sound interested. I glanced at the clock. We would have to leave in ten minutes.

“ _Do you have time for that?_ ” He sounded surprised.

I grimaced. “Well, actually not. We've got to leave soon. Something happened...” I hesitated, not sure how to go on.

“ _That's why you sound so nervous. What's going on?_ ” He sounded worried now.

“Someone broke into my house and destroyed a few things.” I tried to let it sound harmless. “Nothing to worry about.”

“ _They broke into your house? You let it come this far? I mean, you always had haters, but this is huge._ ” In this moment, I decided not to mention the death threat. _You let it come this far_. It sounded like I was responsible for this. Was he blaming me?

“We're dealing with it. The meeting with the new security company will be in an hour.” I said it colder than intended.

“ _Security company? For the house?_ ”

“Yeah, well, and for me. Phil thinks it's better if I have a bodyguard.”

“ _A bodyguard? To save you from letters?_ ” He laughed. “ _Isn't that a little too much?_ ”

“I trust his judgement.” I said simply.

“ _Will it be a woman? Or a man?_ ” At the last word, I could hear a strange tone in his voice. It wasn't just jealousy but something else.

“I'm not sure yet.” I lied. “It's not been decided.” I decided to change the subject. “Do you want to come over this weekend?”

“ _I think I'll be busy. But what about the one after that?_ ”

I checked my schedule quickly. “Sounds good. I should be free.”

“ _Then I'll see you on Saturday, baby. I can't wait to have you in my arms again. And let me know how this stupid bodyguard business will turn out._ ” There it was again. One moment, he was sweet and nice and the next, the jealousy was back. It hadn't been always like this. Only when I started to be more active in politics and people started to notice me.

“I will. Bye, Joe.” I ended the call before he could say anything else and breathed in deeply.

I should be happy that my boyfriend wanted to visit soon. So why was I so nervous about it?

* * *

We were standing in front of my house and waited for the security company to arrive. It was really cold and I would have loved to go inside, but Phil insisted on waiting in front of the house. The property was very big and we couldn't see the street from where we were standing. The path from the street to the house was long, winding and surrounded by bushes and trees. I'd always liked the privacy I had at home.

Suddenly, the sound of a car broke through the silence that surrounded us. It was a big, white van. No company name on it, nothing. I glanced at Phil, but he was completely calm. The car stopped at the end of the driveway and two people jumped out of the back. I tensed, curious to see the men who were responsible for my safety from now on. At least if I wanted it. Phil had always said that I could also say no.

The first man I saw was tall and blond. Even through his pullover, I could see that he was very muscular and most probably a born fighter. Blue eyes, I added in thoughts when he glanced in our direction. His companion was a little shorter, with brown hair that nearly reached his shoulders.

Then the other doors of the car opened. On the passenger seat had been sitting a very tall man with short black hair and dark skin. He was eyeing us curiously, a smile on his lips that showed white teeth. I looked away quickly and focused on the last part of the team.

The man wasn't as tall as his companions, but I assumed that he was still taller than me. His black hair was styled perfectly and he was the only one in the team with a beard. Unlike his companions, he was wearing a dark suit that fit him very well. In this moment, he was taking off his sunglasses and said something to the blond man, a slight smile on his lips. They were too far away for us to hear what they were saying, but the reply made him laugh. He turned to us then and noticed that I was staring at him.

To my surprise, a wide grin spread on his lips and the brown eyes were shining. I wasn't sure if it was excitement or something else on his face. The only thing I was sure of was that this man was confident. Maybe even far too confident for his own good. And he was handsome, I had to admit, but pushed the thought away again.

Phil walked towards them and I followed him quickly.

“Hello, gentlemen, it's good to meet you. My name is Phil Coulson and this is Ms. Virginia Potts.” I noticed that Phil was looking at the man with the suit now.

“It's good to be here, Mr. Coulson.” He answered with a polite smile. His voice sounded deeper than expected. “I'm Tony Stark and this is my team.” He gestured at the others who were standing next to him now. “James Rhodes, Steve Rogers and James Barnes.” We all shook hands. I noticed the problem with the names, but kept quiet. Somehow, I doubted that they were both really called James. Not according to the way how relaxed they all dealt with each other.

When Tony was standing in front of me, he smiled. “An honour to meet you, Ms. Potts. I've heard so much about you in the past weeks.”

“I hope only the good things.” I replied politely. I hated getting compliments like this. Just empty words. When I took his hand and shook it, I couldn't help noticing the curious look on his face. Apparently, he'd found what he was looking for because he looked rather satisfied when he stepped back.

“Before we go in, I have to emphasize that it doesn't look good.” Phil warned them. He gestured at the wall of the house where the white colour was covered with graffiti now. They'd placed a plant in front of it, but it wasn't a good disguise. “That is harmless next to the things inside.”

They all walked towards the wall and one of them – I thought Steve? – took the plant and placed it somewhere else. “Amateurs?” The man with the long hair asked thoughtfully.

“Or not enough time.” Came the reply. If they were really going to work for me, I would have to learn their names as fast as possible.

“Won't get through as art.” Tony muttered and turned to us again. “Can we go inside?”

Phil nodded and I opened the front door. I couldn't wait to get out of the cold. “We've already repaired the windows because of the weather. This year, it's unusually cold here. They even said that it might snow. I've heard that it's some kind of weather phenomenon that only occurs once in many years.”

“Last time 1874, I think.” Tony said and when we looked at him in surprise, he shrugged. “I've got a good memory.” He said simply.

“There are only few things he doesn't know. You will get used to it.” One of the James' said with an amused smile on his lips.

“Thanks, Rhodey.” Tony whispered to him. It was obvious that this interruption had made him uncomfortable. “So would you give us a tour?” The question was directed at me.

I glanced at Phil. “Shouldn't we talk about everything first?” I asked, feeling a little insecure. After all, I couldn't just decide that those people were watching over me from now on. I didn't even know them.

“We'll let them secure the house, even if you'd decide against the rest.” Phil whispered and I nodded.

Tony acted as if he didn't notice our short exchange of words. Something about this man irritated me, but I couldn't tell what it was. “So let's go.” I said and for the next hour, I showed them my house. They asked many questions. Of some, I didn't even try to understand the meaning. While they were looking at the rooms, windows and everything else, I watched the group closely.

I got to know that the problem with the two James' wasn't a real one. I'd already heard one of the nicknames. Rhodey. The other one was called Bucky. I thought that it had to do something with their last names.

Tony was the head of the group and knew the most about the technical stuff. He kept making comments and it looked like he wasn't taking anything seriously, but I suspected that it wasn't true. He was completely focused on the problem at hand.

Rhodey pointed out situations in which others could move towards the house without being noticed, while Steve simulated someone breaking in. Sometimes, Bucky helped him with this. Honestly, their interactions were interesting to watch. Soon, I realized something else. They were all really good friends and that's why they were acting so relaxed together.

First, I thought it was unprofessional. However, I noticed that it wasn't the case at all. They were all experts in different areas. I might not like their humour – especially Tony's comments weren't my style – but I had to admit that they were good. Phil's friend hadn't lied.

“Impressive, isn't it?” Phil asked quietly while the team discussed where to place cameras. “I've heard that the technology they use can't be bought anywhere else. Mr. Stark invents everything himself.”

I raised my eyebrows. “If he's that clever, why does he own a security company?”

“No one knows.” Phil told me. “In fact, my friend couldn't tell me very much about him at all. Just that he's brilliant.”

I watched him from the distance. Right now, Tony was explaining something to the others. There was a frown on his face and he kept pointing at different places in the hallway. Unfortunately, he noticed that I'd been looking at him and grinned. I cursed inwardly. I wanted to look professional, not like a scared little politician. I wasn't doing a good job.

“Very trustworthy for someone who should keep people safe.” I muttered sarcastically.

“I think he's nice.” Phil emphasized. “As well as his team.”

“I didn't say that he doesn't look _nice_.” I threw in. “He's just...” 

“Different from what you've expected?” He asked quietly and smiled.

“Yes.” I said in the end. “I expected someone who takes things seriously.”

“He does.” Phil said.

“I know. But it doesn't look like it. With all of them.”

“Would you have preferred those big, brutal looking guys with the dark looks on their faces you always see on TV?” Phil asked. “These guys know what they're doing.”

Now that he mentioned it, I really thought that this was better than those serious, unapproachable men. “Who will be watching over me?”

“They'll tell us later.”

“Will they change it if I'm not happy with it?” I already sounded doubtful.

“I don't think so.” Phil said hesitantly. “They know how they work best.”

I sighed. “I feared that.” Somehow, I had the feeling that I already knew who would be with me all the time. And I didn't like it at all.

Two hours later, we were all sitting around my big kitchen table. After looking at the house from the inside, they'd also insisted to inspect the garden. They'd been very interested in the fence surrounding the property and the gate.

“We can recreate how they got into the house now.” Tony started his explanations. He made it short and pointed out the biggest weaknesses. “Our security system will be helpful.”

“You should also think about a new gate.” Steve added. “This one can be opened far too easy. That's how they got onto the property in the first place.”

Most of the time, I only listened while they discussed the security measures. I would have loved to take part in the discussion, but didn't know what to say. Then Tony finally changed the subject.

“You already told me about the letters.” He said to Phil. “Paper, impossible to retrace, always sent from somewhere else.”

Phil nodded. “First, they had been harmless. However, they got more graphic in the past weeks.”

“Can we see them?” Bucky asked. “I mean all of them in chronological order?”

“That would be possible.” Phil agreed.

Tony glanced at Bucky. “You think you can find something?”

“It's worth a try.”

Tony nodded thoughtfully and turned back to us. “Tell me about your enemies.”

I stared at him. “As far as I know, I don't have  _enemies._ Only competitors.” I emphasized. “That's normal in politics. Some people like you, others hate you for what you want to do.” I shrugged. “Until now, it has never been a problem.” 

“You want to become the most important person in this country, now people start noticing you. Like really noticing because you can decide over their future. That changes many things.” Tony said.

I sighed. “I know that.” Why was he always stating the obvious?

“So tell me about your _competitors_.” Tony continued. “Like Jeremy Sattler. Or is there someone else who would want to prevent you from becoming President?” 

“I've met Mr. Sattler once. I know his political attitude and what people are saying about him, but nothing else.” People were saying many things about him. For example that he would do anything to win this election. “Why are you even asking all this?”

“One of our tasks will be to find the person who sent you those letters. We have to know everything about this election.” Tony stated. “These are only the first questions.”

“Can't we do that later?” They didn't even have the job yet.

Tony shrugged with a smile. “Of course.” The way he said it emphasized that it wasn't alright. I knew that he was trying to provoke me, so I decided to take matters in my own hands.

“How will it work when you're responsible for my safety?” I asked.

“One of us will be responsible for your personal security. You might call it a bodyguard, and that's true, but it's a little more complicated. After all, no one should know that you're being guarded.” Now Tony was completely serious again. I didn't understand what was wrong with this man. “He'll be a political partner, that makes it easier to accompany you on official events. And it will explain why he's with you so often.”

“The others will do more things. Trying to find out more about the letters, informing themselves about the people you're dealing with, surveillance and more. Whatever is needed at the moment.” Rhodey continued. “It might sound confusing, but we've done things like this before. We've got a plan, so you don't have to worry.” 

“And you'll all come with me when I'm travelling through the country? There are lots of events for promotion in the next weeks.” I said.

“That's the plan.” Tony agreed. “But we're spontaneous, it all depends on the situation. We have to keep an eye on those threats. Let's just say that at least one of us will always be with you.”

“We will all use new identities.” Bucky explained. “It's necessary when we're seen with you.”

“We're also thinking of using disguises.” Steve added, but he didn't sound happy about it.

“So I'll have to remember your real names and the fake ones as well?” I sighed. “Sounds fun.”

They all grinned at me. “You'll get used to it.” Tony chuckled. However, he turned serious again very fast. “You don't have to decide if you'll engage us right now. We can meet again tomorrow if that's better. We know that this is a big decision for you.”

I exchanged a look with Phil. He was looking at me questioningly. So the decision was all mine.

For a few moments, I looked at the four men in front of me silently. Did I want to trust them with my life? I knew that they weren't the people I was usually dealing with. Especially Tony was far too arrogant, cheeky and self-centred. I didn't like his humour and there were moments when he was getting on my nerves. Which was a surprise because we just knew each other for a few hours. On the other hand, I never really talked to him. He could be completely different. Better or worse.

I remembered his last sentences. He was giving me time to decide if I really wanted this. If he would really be that self-obsessed, he wouldn't do that, right? Somehow, I had the feeling that getting to know them all and especially Tony Stark would be a hard task.

To my surprise, I trusted them. Maybe the events of the previous days had clouded my judgement or I was just tired of considering everything thousands of times before I made a decision.

I nodded sternly. “I don't need time to think of it again. You have the job.”

From the corner of my eyes, I saw the satisfied look on Phil's face.

The team was also looking satisfied now. Now I just had to ask the most important question. Maybe I should have done that before I agreed to hire them. “Can I ask who will be my bodyguard from now on?”

Tony grinned. “That would be me.”

I kept smiling at him, but inside, everything was screaming one question.

What did I get into?


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't own the characters or places!

Tony

“Are you sure that you'll get along with her? I mean, she didn't look thrilled when you announced that you'll stay with her from now on.” Steve frowned at me. “We could still change the plan.”

“And who'll play the politician then?” I raised my eyebrows sceptically. “Are you suddenly feeling up for that job?”

He grimaced. “Hell, no. But maybe Rhodey or Bucky?” While saying their names, he turned around to face them. They were both sitting on the couch of our hotel room. Rhodey was playing with his phone while Bucky was reading something. They hadn't noticed that Steve said their names.

I clapped my hands and pointed at them. “Hey, guys, maybe you should also listen to our conversation. Steve has doubts.”

They both looked up slowly. “Why? Seems like a good job.” Rhodey said simply. “A little complicated, but we all agreed that we could use a challenge.”

“Don't forget how much they'll pay us.” Bucky added.

“That's not what I meant.” Steve threw in. “Do you think that she'll get along with Tony?”

“Why not?” Bucky asked. “Tony can charm every woman.” While saying that, he grinned at me.

“She seemed slightly annoyed.” Steve tried again.

“Someone broke into her house and is threatening her. Would you be happy in her place?” Rhodey raised his eyebrows. “What do you think, Tony? Will you be able to deal with her without provoking her too much?”

I shrugged. “Most probably. I mean, I don't know her yet.” Except from the things everyone knew and the few things I'd been able to see earlier when we'd inspected her house. She was a proud woman and didn't like depending on the help of others. Next to her work, she didn't seem to have much of a private life. At least there hadn't been many personal objects in her house – the destroyed ones included. Only a few pictures, mostly with her parents or friends. One of them with another man, though it looked older.

She trusted Phil, her manager, very much. They had a close relationship and not just something professional. She also had much money, the house proved that. And making a good impression was important to her, I'd noticed that immediately.

Of course she was also beautiful with her red hair, the freckles and the green eyes. The pictures I'd seen until now didn't do her justice. Now I really understood why others called her Pepper. Though I couldn't see anything offending in that nickname. It suited her, and not in a bad way. Much better than Virginia. I didn't like that name.

But could I really get along with her? It was true, I could charm women easily. Sometimes, I didn't even have to try. However, I'd also noticed that Ms. Potts seemed to dislike me for some reason, even if we didn't really talk. I thought that it had to do something with my personality in general, but I wasn't sure yet. I would have to talk to her again to be sure of that. And we would have much time to talk, considering that I would have to accompany her for months now.

I really hoped that she would be easy to get along with, but somehow, I doubted it. She had everything. Fame, money, success. Those people always thought that they were better than others and they didn't miss an opportunity to show it. When I hated something about people, it was that. From the looks of it, Virginia Potts was one of them.

Again, I thought of the way she'd acted when I wanted to ask questions about the problem at hand. It was important to know that stuff before we accepted a job, but she'd just cut me off. There were two possibilities. Either it was hard for her to talk about it, or she just didn't want it. I wasn't sure yet.

“Or would one of you like to play the politician from now on? You can have that job, I don't mind.” Even while I said it, I wasn't sure if it was true. Would it be alright if one of the others stayed with Ms. Potts all the time? Hell, I wasn't even sure if I _liked_ her. What was wrong with me?

“No way!” Rhodey exclaimed loudly. “You know how bad I'm with stuff like this.”

“I hate being around too many people.” Bucky said simply. “Since she'll have to do this because of the campaign, I'm out.”

I sighed. “I thought so. So we'll just have to get along.” I shrugged and smiled slightly at Steve, who didn't look convinced.

“Just make sure that she doesn't hate you right from the beginning. Otherwise, our job here ends before it even began.” He sounded thoughtful now.

“Oh come on, how many people hate me?” I asked. “It's not that bad.”

“It is.” Steve argued simply.

I raised my eyebrows. “It is?”

“Remember Justin Hammer? Or that guy from the big company, what was his name? Stane, I think. Or Maria Hill from the department for -”

“Stop, I get it.” I interrupted him quickly, not wanting to hear more of those names. It was true, I didn't get along well with everyone. But all those people Steve named were just idiots. Self-obsessed, power-hungry idiots. I never got along with those. “Do you think Ms. Potts is like them?”

“She seems to be nice.” Steve said slowly. “A little stressed, but that's natural considering her situation.”

“It will all work out.” I said, hoping to end that conversation now. “Should we start planning?”

Ten minutes later, we were all sitting around the table. There were the usual empty sheets of paper with the pens, the files about Virginia Potts and everyone close to her as well as the information about her house we gathered today. We didn't have the letters yet, but Mr. Coulson had ensured us to bring them tomorrow.

“We can install the security system in the house within the next days. It depends on when all the damage is undone.” Tony began. “Next to that, we'll get the letters tomorrow, so we can have a look at them. And of course we have to do more research on that election, maybe we can narrow down who might be responsible for the threats. Last but not least, we have to get to know Ms. Potts better.”

“So you'll hang out with the woman while we have to do all the work?” Rhodey asked and tried to sound sceptical, but he grinned, which didn't let him look serious.

“We have to know as much as possible about her.” Steve threw in. “And I think it's better if Tony goes to her alone, we don't want to overwhelm her when we all show up at her hotel room tomorrow morning.”

“He has a point there.” I said with a grin. “Just let me know when the system is installed, then I'll come over and do the rest to make it work.” I was the only one who could install the system and set it up. I'd tried to teach the others as well, but with all the changes I constantly made, it never really worked when they tried. There used to be errors which was why we'd agreed that I should program everything.

“I will look at those letters, if that's alright.” Bucky told us. “I'm sure that there has to be a clue.”

“If someone can find it, it's you.” Steve smiled at Bucky.

“Alright, so I'll go to Ms. Potts' hotel while Bucky stays here and has a first look at those letters.” I summarized. “Which means that you'll go to the house and install the system?”

“If they aren't still cleaning up. It sounded like they want to start tomorrow morning.” Rhodey muttered.

“Then start outside.” I suggested. “The sooner you'll do it, the better. Then we can concentrate on the other tasks at hand. And it might be easier if Ms. Potts can stay in her house again. After all, we control the situation there.”

“How long until she has to leave for the first appointment?” Bucky asked.

I looked at her schedule. “About three weeks. The first events are all in California, then she should be able to return for the night. Leaves us enough time to get to know her better and make up our disguises.” I raised my eyebrows. “Did you already decide on names?” That was always a difficult part. Making up fake identities that weren't too obvious.

“Not yet, though I have some ideas.” Rhodey grinned.

“But what about you? When you're in public with her, your identity has to be the best one of ours. Otherwise, someone might notice that you're not a real politician.” Steve looked concerned now.

“I've already got an idea.” I said slowly. “But I'll have to check a few things first.” The others frowned at me, but I didn't want to explain more now. I already hated my idea, but if there was no other way... This time, we really had to be convincing. After all, most of the media would be focused on Virginia Potts and everyone who accompanied her. I was sure that they would check on her companions. “Maybe I'll also hack a few servers, makes it more convincing.”

“You can't mean that you want to talk to...” Rhodey started and his eyes widened slightly.

I rolled my eyes. “You know that I would never do that.”

“But they have that much influence, don't they?” In this moment, I hated that Rhodey knew so much about my past.

“Yes, they do. However, I swore that I'll never talk to them again.” It was true, but wasn't this an exception? I didn't plan to do it now, of course. It was just the last option if the other things didn't work.

“What are you talking about?” Bucky was the only one in the group who didn't know anything about my past. Steve knew big parts of it and Rhodey everything.

“Tony has old friends in LA.” Steve said to rescue me. “But you won't claim that favour, will you?”

“No. Not if there's any other way.” I replied immediately.

“Old friends?” Bucky asked in confusion.

“Powerful friends. Who might be able to convince a few people that you're really a politician, right?” Steve sounded a little insecure and I knew that he was just guessing.

“They could do that.” I turned to Bucky. “We had our differences in the past and didn't talk for years. So it would be a really bad idea to contact them.” I sighed. “I'll just hack a few servers and get us into some systems. I think that will be enough.”

Bucky still looked like he had thousands of questions, but luckily, Rhodey changed the subject. “So when we'll have a look at that garden tomorrow...” While he talked, I looked at him gratefully and he grinned.

* * *

The next morning, I would meet Ms. Potts at nine in her hotel for breakfast. She would have preferred a less personal location, but since no one should see me yet, there was no other way to talk to her. Our disguises weren't finished and it might lead to uncomfortable questions. We all had to know the story before we went out in public.

I knocked on her door and after a few moments, she opened it. She was wearing jeans and a simple white blouse, which made her hair look like fire. There was a polite smile on her lips when she greeted me, but she didn't look too happy. Somehow, I couldn't blame her. I was sure that she'd preferred not needing a bodyguard.

“Good morning.” I smiled widely. “How are you feeling today?”

She raised her eyebrows. “Are you just polite or is this an honest question, Mr. Stark?”

“It's Tony.” I corrected her. “It's a real question. You'll learn soon that I'm a very honest person.”

“I already noticed that yesterday.” She muttered while she led me to the table. I knew that I shouldn't have heard that comment, so I decided to ignore it for now. “I feel fine, thank you for asking.”

We both sat down and I noticed that she looked at me with surprise on her face. “Are you always wearing suits?”

“Not all the time.” I shrugged. “Old habits.”

“So you didn't just want to make a good impression yesterday.” She concluded, again with surprise in her voice.

I decided to be completely honest with her right from the beginning. “Honestly, I don't really care what others think of me.” I began. “I'm doing my own thing, always.”

“What if it's important what others think of you when you're with me?”

“That's the job, it's different. I won't accompany you as Tony Stark.” I would be playing a role when I was with her.

“And who will you be?” She asked curiously. “After all, I have to know whom I have to introduce to the others soon.”

“The name will be Robert Smith.” I told her. “I've already uploaded his CV and a few other documents, I can tell you more later. I won't disguise myself, by the way. Would be too risky if I'm with you all the time. Someone might catch me without the fake hair and that would be awkward.” I'd decided not to contact the people who might make the whole politician business easier last night. I never wanted to talk to them again. It was better like this.

“Robert.” She said slowly and frowned at me. “That suits you.”

“I prefer Tony.” I replied.

“Short for Anthony, isn't it?”

I nodded. “No one ever calls me that.” I grimaced. “I don't like it.”

“A few of my friends use to call me V.” She rolled her eyes. “What a stupid nickname.”

“Pepper suits you better.” I said without thinking about it.

Of course it was the wrong thing to say. Suddenly, the smile on her lips was gone and she looked rather annoyed. “Don't make fun of me.” She said harshly. “You know that this name is an insult.”

I raised my eyebrows. “Because they're using your appearance to give you a name?” I asked. “Honestly, it's good. Could have been my idea.”

At this, her expression darkened even more.

I sighed. “I don't think of it as an insult.” How could I make her understand that this was nothing bad?

“Well, but _I_ do. And most of the country sees it like that as well.” She muttered darkly.

“Oh come on, do you really care what the country thinks?”

Again, the wrong question. “Of course I do! I want to be the next president!”

I sighed and leaned back in my chair. Apparently, I could only say the wrong things to her. “If I would call you Pepper, I wouldn't mean it as an insult. Rather a compliment. Red hair, freckles, your temperament... it's perfect.”

“That's why they chose it in the first place.” She was staring at me darkly now and I knew that she regretted agreeing to hire us.

“Do you like Virginia?”

When she hesitated, I knew that she didn't. However, she lied to me and said that she was completely fine with her name.

“I think I'll call you Pepper from now on. Suits you better than Virginia.” I couldn't stop myself from smiling slightly.

“You won't call me that!” She sounded horrified.

“Not in public.” I tried to calm her down again. “Just when we're alone.”

“Doesn't make it better.”

“Bad luck then, you won't change my mind about this. I like the nickname.” I grinned.

Pepper sighed. “We know each other for about twenty-four hours now and you're already getting on my nerves. Is that normal?” So she was an honest person as well.

I sighed. “Alright, this might not have been the best start.”

“That's true.” She smiled slightly.

“Let's just start over.”

“You will call me Pepper anyway?”

When I nodded, she sighed. “Alright, but don't let anyone hear that.” It was obvious that she was angry now, so I tried to calm her down again.

“Tell me about your life.” I said. “Your job as well. You're a professor at university?”

At the mentioning of her work, her face lit up again. “Yes, political science.” She said proudly and soon, she was telling me about her life. Without too many details, of course, but it was enough for now. To my surprise, I liked listening to her. When she wasn't angry, her voice was quite nice.

I kept asking many questions and she answered them eagerly. Soon, I knew about her motives for running for president, as well as her political attitude. It was obvious that she had only one goal: making the world a better place. Some ideas would never work, but others were good. I envied her for her optimism.

“Now you told me very much about your job, but what about your personal life?”

She hesitated. “Do you have to know this?”

“Only the important points.” I smiled apologetically. “Where does your family live, your friends, if you have a partner, that stuff. People close to you might be threatened as well. They could use it against you.”

When I said this, her face fell. Apparently, she didn't consider this before. “Well, Phil is like a father to me. I've got a few friends at the university and some of them are working with me for the campaign, I'm sure you'll get to know them soon. I also have a boyfriend, but we don't talk that much. He wants to visit soon.” Did I just imagine it, or didn't she sound too happy when she mentioned her boyfriend? That caught my interest and I had to force myself to remain silent. It was a job here, nothing else. And besides, that woman was kind of annoying. I'd also notice that she didn't mention her parents, but it would be easy to find out more about that without asking.

“He doesn't live in LA?” I asked.

“No, San Francisco. He's working for an advertisement company.” She shrugged. “I don't really know what they're doing, we've both been busy with work recently.”

To me, it didn't sound like a happy relationship. “Does he approve of you running for president?”

Again, she hesitated. “I think so.” So he didn't. However, I didn't want to ask more questions about that right now. Our argument from earlier was still on my mind and she looked uncomfortable enough.

“What about you?” She asked suddenly.

I raised my eyebrows. “Excuse me?”

“Shouldn't I also get to know a few things about the man who'll be with me for the next months?” Pepper looked at me innocently.

I ran a hand through my hair. “There's not much to tell. I've been running SI for years now and next to that, I've got a boring life. I'm inventing technical things in my free time, it's fun.”

She looked at me sceptically. “I'm sure that there's more you can tell me.”

I could tell her many things, but I didn't like talking about myself very much. “Have you been in LA before?” It was a simple question, but it sent hundreds of memories through my mind. Yes, I'd been here before. For many years. “A few times.” I answered her. “Mostly for work, but once or twice also as a holiday.”

“With a partner?”

I shook my head. “With my best friend, Rhodey. He's from LA.”

“You met in New York?” Damn, that woman was curious.

“Sort of.” I muttered and luckily, my phone rang in this moment. “I'm sorry, I've got to answer that.”

It was Rhodey. “What is it?”

“ _We can start installing the security system this afternoon, her house should be cleaned by then_.” He told me. “ _Did you know that they hired about fifteen people to clean up in here?_ ”

“No, I didn't. Should I come over then?” I glanced at Pepper. She was still watching me.

“ _Yes, that would be great. And bring Ms. Potts. We have to tell her where we'll locate the cameras._ ”

“I'll do that. See you later, Rhodey.” I ended the call. “Seems like your house will be back to normal this afternoon.” I told her. “The company you hired for cleaning up is fast.”

“Phil did that for me.” She muttered. When I mentioned that her house would be clean again soon, she relaxed. “You have to go there to install the security system?”

I nodded. “The others will install the cameras in the house, but before we do anything else, we need your approval.”

“Alright, then we'll go there later.” She looked uncomfortable now.

“No one will bother you there again.” I said seriously. “We'll make sure of that.”

I looked into her eyes and after a few moments, she relaxed. After breathing in deeply, she nodded. “I trust you.”

This made me smile. “That's good. Otherwise, this won't work.”

“I know.” Now she sounded resigned.

“Do you have to work today?” I asked, hoping that Pepper didn't want to continue talking about my personal life.

“I _always_ have to work.” She said and sighed. “I've got to make a few calls and practice my speech for the charity event next week. Most probably, that will be your first appearance in public here.”

I groaned. “A charity event?”

“I've been invited, together with other politicians.” She explained. “Because I'm running for president. Otherwise, they would never invite politicians there.”

“You'll work from home the rest of the week?”

“We'll continue planning the campaign.” Pepper explained.

Well, that was a start. Would give us time to find our roles before we had to show ourselves with her outside.

The phone that rang this time was hers, not mine. “I'm sorry.” She whispered and answered the call. However, I noticed that she didn't sound sorry at all. Rather relieved. When it became clear that her phone call wouldn't end soon, I grabbed my laptop and continued working on our new identities.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't own the characters or places!

Pepper

Tony Stark was a riddle to me. While he and his team were discussing where to place the cameras in my house, I sat in the kitchen and looked at a few files. Phil had suggested to make a few minor changes in our political program and I had to tell them if it was alright before they could print the new flyers. However, I couldn't quite concentrate on the work at hand.

I was still angry that Tony used to call me Pepper now. How could he do that, knowing that others just invented the name to get on my nerves? I hoped that his team wouldn't start calling me Pepper as well, but I already feared that they would. After all, they were all just as relaxed as Tony. Only Steve seemed to be a little more polite.

On the other hand, Tony had also moments in which I thought that he was quite nice. For example when he'd asked questions about my life. He was a very concentrated listener and asked many questions. Or did that just come along with his job?

I was confused and not sure if I could spent the next months together with this man. Would we get along well or would we start arguing soon? And why did he refuse to talk about himself? He'd been relieved when the phone call had interrupted our conversation, that had been obvious. In fact, he didn't tell me a single thing about himself. Not where he came from, why he'd founded Stark Industries or even what his hobbies were.

Shouldn't we trust each other when he'd be my bodyguard from now on? I'd told him many things about myself, but I thought that I also had a right to know more about him. Otherwise, I knew that this whole trust thing would fail. Could I really trust this man with my life? There were times when I would say yes, I did. But then he'd say something that annoyed me or made me angry and I wasn't so sure anymore.

I'd texted Phil about my doubts, but he'd just said that I should give it more time. He was sure that we would get along well once we knew each other better. I trusted Phil, but maybe he was wrong about this.

I sighed and put the pen down on the table. I couldn't work right now, not with all those thoughts in my head. That I kept hearing Tony's voice from time to time when he gave instructions to his team didn't make it any better. He had a nice voice and I enjoyed listening to it.

How could that be possible when this man also used to annoy me at the same time? I just didn't get it. Until a few days ago, everything in my life had been perfectly clear. And now Tony Stark showed up and I was more confused than ever.

Maybe I was just overreacting because of the threats and the bodyguard business. It was all so much right now, especially with the election getting closer. I knew that I was stressed and this wasn't good. People made mistakes when they weren't completely focused on their task. I _had_ to win this election, there was no other way.

“Are you sure that we don't need more cameras?” A voice interrupted my thoughts. I thought that it belonged to Steve.

“That's all we need, I'm sure.” Tony replied calmly. “Once the system is set up, everything will be in perfect order. I made some changes.”

“Again?” Steve asked resignedly.

“Of course. We have to keep it up to date. Don't want others to get better than we are. And besides, I like making changes.” This sounded surprisingly honest.

“Would be easier for us if you wouldn't change the whole system, though.” This time, Rhodey was talking. “Otherwise, we wouldn't need you to install this thing all the time.”

“I like it when I'm needed.” I could already imagine Tony's grin at those words.

“Self-obsessed ass.” Someone muttered quietly.

Now Tony laughed and soon, the others joined him. Their footsteps were getting closer and then they entered the kitchen, still looking quite amused.

“We've planned everything now.” Tony said when he noticed that I was looking at him. “We can show you where we'll place the cameras later.” He glanced at the papers in front of me. “If you're busy, we can leave you alone and discuss everything later.”

“No, it's fine.” I said and smiled, hoping that it would look relaxed. “What do you want to talk about?”

“The new identities.” Tony said simply and they all sat down. “We've got most of it now.”

“You wanted to be Robert Smith.” I noted.

He nodded. “New in the political business and eager to learn new things. Living in LA, makes it easier to explain why no one knows me. The city is too big to know every unimportant person who's involved in politics.”

“You should see the data about him in the internet, it's great.” Rhodey threw in with a grin. “I can't imagine Tony as an environmental activist.”

“You know that those things are important to me.” Tony argued.

“Before he got into the security business, he wanted to start doing something for clean energy.” Rhodey explained and winked at me. “Though he never went through with it.”

I looked at Tony in surprise. Clean energy? That didn't seem to fit to the person in front of me. “Why didn't you do it?” I asked curiously.

“Because I met a few friends who were perfect for inventing security systems.” Tony gestured at Rhodey and Steve. “So we were stuck with that.”

“However, Tony could have also been a big number in the energy business.” Steve added. “Maybe you could even be famous now, with Stark Industries as a big energy company.”

Tony rolled his eyes. “We've discussed this a thousand times by now. We're doing what we're doing. As easy as that.” Somehow, he didn't look happy while saying that. Would he have preferred getting into the energy business? But why didn't he do it then? “And now let's continue with our explanations. I bet Ms. Potts has lots of work to do that's waiting because of us.”

“I'll be Chris Adams.” Steve explained. “Old friend of yours, I think we met at university. We weren't studying the same, though. I'm helping you with the advertisement.”

“You can call me Sebastian Brown.” Bucky continued. “If anyone asks, I'm really one of your security guards.”

At this, I frowned. I thought that we wanted to avoid this.

“Sometimes, you have to tell people parts of the truth to prevent them from getting too suspicious.” Bucky said with a smile. “And besides, I can't play the politician or something like that.” At this, he grimaced. “I'm a really bad actor. That's also why I'll just accompany you when it's necessary.”

“My name will be Donald Wilmington.” Rhodey said now and grimaced. “I still don't like that name! Maybe I'll make it short for Don or something like that.” He shrugged. “I'm a technician in your team.”

I looked at them silently for a few moments. Honestly, I could imagine them all in their roles quite well. Tony, the politician. Steve, an old friend who wanted to help me with the campaign. Bucky, a security guard. Honestly, that would also fit his silent and serious character. And Rhodey as a technician.

“This could really work.” I admitted in the end.

Tony grinned widely. “It _will_ work.” He emphasized. “As I said, we've done something like this before. It's not our first undercover job.”

“My team has to know about you.” I said, remembering my conversation with Phil. “Otherwise, something might go wrong.”

“That won't be a problem.” Tony nodded.

“We'll also have to think of a way to include you into everything.” This was just directed at Tony. “But since you already know about my political attitude, that shouldn't be a problem, right?” I smiled widely at him.

He nodded. “I'm a fast learner.”

“That's good.” I turned to the others. “I assume you don't want to accompany us tomorrow to meet my team?”

“We've got go install the cameras first.” Rhodey threw in. “I bet you would prefer staying in your house again soon instead of a hotel?”

I nodded gratefully. The sooner I could get back into my own house, the better. After this, they showed me the places for the cameras. In the end, I had to sign a document, declaring that everything was fine for me.

“I can set the system up tomorrow evening.” Tony explained in the end. “Then you can move back in here the day after that.”

“That's good.” I couldn't keep the relief from my voice.

“Though I'm not sure if you want to stay here the whole time while I do it. It could get late.” He added.

“I can be alone for a few hours, you know?” I said, my voice sharper than intended. “No one's going to kill me.”

“You say that now.” He stated. “What if you get attacked while we're not with you?”

“You're exaggerating.” I muttered sceptically. “I'm running for president, people don't get attacked because of that.”

“There was a threat written directly over your bed, if I have to remind you.” Tony didn't sound happy.

“People are being stupid all the time.” I argued, though I wasn't completely convinced. Somehow, I had a bad feeling about all this. Not that I would ever admit it in front of Tony Stark. “Nothing will happen in one evening.”

He sighed. “You don't make it easy to keep you safe.”

“We didn't do anything yet.” I reminded him.

“Yes, but you'll go out there again soon. You really have to trust me, Pepper.”

At the nickname, I frowned. “How can I trust someone who doesn't even respect my opinion?” I crossed my arms.

He raised his eyebrows. “I thought it was alright if I call you Pepper when we're alone?”

“Doesn't mean that I have to like it.” I sighed. “Let's just go back to the hotel, I'm tired.”

He looked like he wanted to say something else, but then he nodded. “Then let's go.”

We were just in the car when my phone rang. It was Joe. I glanced at Tony, not really wanting to talk to my boyfriend when he was in the car. However, I didn't have a choice. The traffic was horrible and it would take us much time until we'd arrive at the hotel.

“I have to answer that.” I whispered and smiled apologetically.

“Don't bother.” He said simply. “I won't listen.”

I wasn't sure about that, but accepted the call anyway.

“Hey Joe.” I greeted him and tried to sound enthusiastically. Tony glanced at me and raised an eyebrow, so I knew it didn't work.

“ _Hey baby, how are you?_ ” Joe greeted me. I noticed that he also didn't sound too happy.

“I'm fine. The security system will be installed in my house tomorrow and we're busy with the campaign. Phil wants to make a few changes.” I told him. “What about you?”

“ _We're still working on our new concept. Soon, we'll be able to start working for real. It will be so awesome, I wish you could come here and see what we're doing! You would love it, baby._ ” Suddenly, he sounded excited. I held back a sigh.

“That's great, I'm happy for you! But you know that I can't visit, I'm really busy right now.” I tried to let it sound apologetically.

“ _You always are._ ” Joe noted. “ _Look, about my visit this weekend..._ ”

“You won't make it?” I guessed.

“ _Yeah, sorry about that. But I could come the one after that. I'm free there, I promise. I miss you so much. The bedroom is so empty without you._ ” Did he really just miss me because of the physical part of our relationship? Right now, it sounded like that. “ _As well as everything else. It feels like a part of me is missing. That's you, baby._ ” Apparently, he'd also noticed how his words sounded.

“The one after that would be fine, but I'm only free on Saturday. We've got to leave Sunday afternoon, the campaign starts.” I wasn't even disappointed that I wouldn't get so much time with Joe. Again, I wondered why I was still in this relationship with him.

“ _That's alright, at least we'll have one day then. I can't wait to see you._ ” He hesitated. “ _What about that whole bodyguard business? How is he?_ ” The jealousy in his voice wasn't hard to miss.

“Oh, they're all great. Really nice and conscientious.” I tried to say it lightly, however I could feel Tony's eyes on me now.

“ _They? I thought you would only get one bodyguard!_ ”

“They are a team and yes, it's only one bodyguard. Though his colleagues will also accompany us from time to time.” Again, it sounded sharper than intended.

“ _No need to get angry! I hope they are all women?_ ”

I couldn't hold back the sigh. “No, not at all. But don't worry about that, I'll be fine.” Right now, it felt really uncomfortable to have Tony right next to me. I knew he was listening.

“ _I don't want you to be around strangers all the time, baby. Especially male strangers._ ” Joe muttered darkly. “ _Can't you hire someone else?_ ”

“Why does this bother you so much?” I tried to whisper and hoped that Tony wouldn't hear me with all the noises around us.

“ _You're beautiful and I know how difficult it is for a man to keep his hands off of you._ ” Oh great. Why did I even want him to visit me here in LA?

“They're doing their job, nothing else! Now stop being to dramatic.” I hissed.

“ _What's wrong with you?_ ”

“Nothing is wrong with me. I'm asking myself what's wrong with you!” Slowly, I was losing my patience with him. “I trust them.”

Joe was silent for some time. “ _I have to go now. I'll see you on Saturday in two weeks. Text me. And make sure those men keep their hands by themselves!_ ” With that, he ended the call.

I stared at my phone for a few seconds. What was wrong with Joe? First, he didn't support me with my decision to run for president. And now this stupid jealousy! If he really would visit me in two weeks, I'd have to keep him away from Tony. Otherwise, I feared that Joe might cause a scene. Tony didn't seem like a person who would just let him do this without arguing...

I glanced at Tony and noticed that he was watching me with a strange look on his face. “Trouble in paradise?” He said it lightly, but it didn't match his expression.

“That's none of your business!” I snapped. “You can't just listen to my private conversations! I won't tolerate that!”

He held up his hands in a defensive gesture. “No need to get angry. I wasn't listening. However, your anger was hard to miss right now, considering that we're in a car.”

I sighed. “Next time, you should listen to some music. Anything, but don't spy on my personal life.”

Suddenly, the car stopped. I looked out of the window and saw that we were in front of the hotel. “I'm going to my room now. We will leave tomorrow morning at nine. Make sure you're punctual.” I left the car without waiting for a reply and slammed the door shut. This man was really getting on my nerves!

* * *

After a long, hot bath, I was able to see things clearer again. I was still angry at Joe for everything he said, that didn't change. Honestly, I still wasn't sure if I even wanted him to visit me again. When I hated something, it was jealousy.

However, I knew that I'd been unfair to Tony. He'd just asked a simple question and I'd been really mean to him. Most probably, he just wanted to make sure that I was alright after he'd noticed that my conversation with Joe didn't go well. He could have asked it more politely, but I doubted that it was his style.

I threw myself onto the bed and closed my eyes. In this moment, I wanted nothing more than some peace. Tomorrow, Tony would meet my team and we'd start planning everything. It would take some time and then we'd already leave for the campaign. We would visit far too many cities and I would be confronted with Jeremy Sattler, my opponent. The election was also getting closer...

When was the last time I'd been able to relax? Honestly, I didn't know. Ever since I decided to run for president, my life's been just a crazy roller coaster. I knew that I couldn't go on like this forever, the risk of a breakdown was too high. However, I also couldn't slow down. Then I might lose the election.

A look at the clock told me that it was already ten in the evening. I really needed so get some sleep. Otherwise, I might snap at Tony again the next day. That was the last thing I wanted. Even if he could be an arrogant ass sometimes, I didn't want him to think something bad of me. We had to work together. We had to _trust_ each other.

I thought of his expression again right before I'd left the car. There had been surprise on his face, next to something else I couldn't quite place. Maybe disappointment? But why on earth should he feel that way?

With a sigh, I closed my eyes and tried to think of nothing at all.

* * *

“It's good to see you again, Mr. Stark.” Phil said politely.

Tony grinned. “It's Tony, please. I hate all those formalities.”

“Then call me Phil.” Came the immediate reply.

“I think I can do that.” Tony nodded. “So tell me about your team.” He looked at me curiously.

“The people who are closest to me are Phil, Rebecca, Daisy and Jim.” I began. “You already know Phil. He organizes everything and is kind of the head of our team.”

“You're exaggerating.” Phil threw in and chuckled. “ _You_ are the head of everything. I'm just doing what you tell me.”

I rolled my eyes. “That's not true and you know it.” I glanced at Tony. “Phil is very modest.”

“I noticed that.” Tony grinned. “So what about the other ones? I expected your team to be much bigger.”

“It is.” I relied simply. “But today, you're only meeting the most important people. The ones who will know about your secret.”

He frowned. “You won't tell everyone?”

“That would be about fifty people.” Phil answered the question. “The risk of someone finding out would be far too high then.”

“Sounds logical.” Tony nodded.

“Rebecca is responsible for the advertisement, the campaign, our slogans and those things.” I continued. “If Steve's with us, he'll pretend to work with her. Daisy is my best friend and she always likes saying that she's my personal stylist.” I grinned. “Which she is, but she's also doing much more. Because she's an expert in human rights.”

Tony raised his eyebrows in surprise. “How does that fit together?”

“It doesn't.” I laughed. “She just insisted on being my stylist because we liked doing our hair and stuff when we were younger.”

Now Tony started to laugh as well. “She's the one calling you V, I assume?”

I grimaced but nodded. “That's true. Don't let her hear that I hate that nickname, please.”

“I won't.” He promised and it sounded honest. He didn't mention the events of the previous day again when we met this morning. Tony just acted like nothing happened at all and I did the same. I was glad about it. I'd already expected a speech from him.

“And Jim is the one who helps me with my speeches and all the public appearances.” I finished. “He's an expert in those things.”

Tony nodded thoughtfully. “So only three other people will know about us.” He muttered. “That's good.”

“They will all keep that secret.” I assured him. “I trust them.”

“Won't the others working with you get suspicious when I just show up from now on?” Tony asked. “I mean, they have to know that it wasn't planned. And they also might notice that I'm not a real politician.”

I grinned. “That's why you'll get coached today. We'll set your political attitude straight, tell you what to say in front of others and what to avoid and lots more. I really hope you've got a good memory.”

He smiled slightly. “Is that a challenge, Ms. Potts?”

“What would you say if I say yes now?” I asked curiously.

His eyes were shining. “Challenge accepted.”

* * *

I was going to lose, I knew it from the moment I first introduced Tony to Rebecca, Daisy and Jim. They all liked him immediately. He could charm them easily and made them laugh very much. I knew that Tony wasn't completely new to politics, but it surprised me how much he knew. When I asked him about it, he just grinned. “Less sleep and more research, that's the trick.” Only then I'd noticed the dark rings under his eyes. I immediately felt guilty for thinking so badly of him. When it came to his job, he really took things seriously.

While we were giving Robert Smith more character and political opinions, I realized one thing. Tony wasn't as bad as I thought. Well, at least sometimes. I actually _liked_ him if he wasn't being stupid or self-obsessed again.

Sometimes, our eyes even met during a discussion and he smiled at me. I couldn't stop myself from smiling back at him then.

When we were finished in the afternoon, he took me aside. “Look, I want to apologize.” He said quietly. “I didn't want to listen to your conversation yesterday.”

I stared at him. Why was he apologizing? I sighed. “No, it's alright. _I_ have to apologize.” I argued softly. “I shouldn't have been angry at you. The conversation just wasn't that nice and I was so angry.” I smiled slightly. “It won't happen again, I promise.”

He nodded slowly. “And I'll try not to listen to your conversation again. The next time we're in a car together, I'll make sure to bring headphones.”

“You don't have to do that.” I threw in quickly. “As I said, it's fine. I overreacted. My relationship isn't going very well at the moment and that bothered me.”

He raised his eyebrows. “But now it's better?”

“When I don't think of him, it is.” I agreed, hoping that it would make clear that I didn't want to continue talking about Joe.

Tony seemed to get it since he grinned. “So I think I won that bet earlier. What do I get now?”

I grinned back at him. “How does dinner sound?”

He tried to look offended. “Just dinner? Won't we have dinner together more often in the future?”

I laughed. “Dinner or nothing at all.”

He grimaced. “Alright, then dinner.” He couldn't stay serious for a long time. The grin on his lips returned soon.

“There's a nice place not far from here. It shouldn't be crowded now.” I suggested. “Then you can go to my house afterwards to install the system and I'll go back to the hotel.”

“Sounds good.” He agreed.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter! I hope you like it, please let me know what you think, that would be awesome! 
> 
> I don't own the characters or places!

Pepper

The next morning I woke up very early. The events of the previous day just wouldn't leave my mind. Dinner with Tony had been quite nice. Well, as nice as it could be with your bodyguard. Just that it didn't feel like that in this moment. We were just two people in a restaurant together, trying to get to know each other better.

It had been awkward at first, that was true. Because Tony still didn't like talking about himself. I'd asked how he knew so much about politics and of course that was the wrong question. He clearly felt uncomfortable about this. So I'd changed the subject soon. I was curious why he was so interested in clean energy. That was the first moment I saw the real Tony Stark, I was sure of that. He was so passionate when he talked about those things, his eyes were shining with excitement. He explained something about a technology he dreamt of inventing someday to produce clean energy, called the Arc reactor. He tried to explain the theory to me, but I didn't understand a single word. In the end, he gave up with a laugh. I joined him soon.

Then we changed the subject to our day and my team again. I told him more stories about Rebecca, Daisy and Jim, as well as our plans for the next weeks. Once more, I realized that Tony was a really good listener and asked many questions.

He still used to confuse me, but slowly, I was starting to like this man. Even if it annoyed me regularly that he used to call me Pepper.

However, there was still one thing I didn't understand at all. His big dream was to go into energy business, but instead, he owned this security company. Why didn't he fulfill his dreams? He didn't answer my question to that and I wasn't sure why. There were moments when he was completely open about himself, but as soon as the questions got more personal, he didn't want to say anything else. I didn't get it.

When I was dressed, I did some more paperwork until Tony would arrive for breakfast. Hopefully, this was the last time we had to do this in my hotel room. If the security system was ready, I could move back into my house this afternoon. At eight o'clock, there was a knock on the door and I opened it to see Tony standing in front of me, a smile on his lips.

“Good morning, Ms. Potts.” He greeted me and I closed the door behind him. “Did you sleep well?”

“It was alright.” I answered his question. “And good morning to you too.” We sat down at the table.

“Well, then enjoy the thought that this was your last night in this hotel.” He grinned. “Today, you'll be able to sleep in your own bed again.”

I stared at him. “The system is ready?”

He nodded. “Nearly took me all night, but it's done now. You can go back home.”

Only then I took the time to look at him more closely. If there had been dark rings under his eyes yesterday, it was nothing compared to now. Did he even sleep last night? His skin was also paler than usual. Otherwise, he looked good as usual. Perfectly styled hair, wearing a gray suit... Maybe that's why I didn't notice how tired he looked at first.

“You look terrible.” I only realized that I'd said it when the words were already out. “I mean, you really didn't get much sleep?”

He was still smiling. “It's fine, I'm used to that.”

“That's not very healthy.” I noted. “And also not good for our work. You have to be attentive when we're coaching you and not so tired that you'd fall asleep any moment.”

“That won't happen.” He said simply. “I know what I'm doing. And besides, I had to finish this. I want you to feel comfortable again and this hotel can't provide that.”

I stared at him. He'd been awake all night _for me_? Just that I felt comfortable? Maybe he really wasn't such a self-obsessed man as I thought... “You didn't have to do this. I would have survived one more night here.” I said simply.

“Now it's done.” He shrugged with a slight smile. “So don't complain. A thank you would be nice, by the way.”

I rolled my eyes. “Thank you.” Honestly, I really appreciated that he'd done this for me. This man didn't stop surprising me.

“So what's the plan for today?” Tony asked to change the subject.

“You mean next to more coaching?” I smiled slightly. “I'll have to practice the speech for the charity gala.”

“Can I listen to it?” He sounded curious now.

“It will be quite boring.” I threw in. “You'll hear it next week.”

He nodded slowly. “Then I can check your security system again instead.”

I raised my eyebrows. “Again?”

“It's better to do it too often than to make mistakes.” He said simply.

“Maybe you should get some sleep instead.” I muttered. “You can't go to that event like this.” People would ask questions.

“It'll be fine.”

I sighed, knowing that it wouldn't be of any use to continue arguing about this with him.

* * *

“Are you ready?” I asked and looked at him searchingly. Tony was wearing a simple black suit with a red tie. His hair was styled as usual and there was a slight smile on his lips. The dark rings under his eyes were gone. All in all, he looked really handsome. Just that this wasn't Tony Stark in front of me. This was Robert Smith, the politician. By now, he owned his role perfectly. Sometimes, it was even hard to tell if he wasn't a real politician. He was a master of his subject. Well, maybe this was also because he was interested in environmental questions and clean energy in general.

He nodded. “Of course.” He said simply.

“You won't have to talk much.” I reminded him. “I'm just going to introduce you to a few people, but the focus will be on me and my speech later.”

He rolled his eyes. “I know, Pepper. You're saying this for the tenth time by now!”

“Don't call me that!” I hissed. Luckily, we were still in the car and no one except for Happy, my driver, could hear us.

“Sorry.” He muttered, even if it didn't sound like he meant it. “I know what I have to do, so don't worry.”

“There will be pictures of us in the papers tomorrow, so try to look serious.” I added.

“I always am.”

I decided to ignore this comment. “Then let's do this.”

Together, we got out of the car and made our way to the charity gala. Most probably, I was more nervous because of Tony's first public appearance than he was himself.

In the end, everything went quite well. Everyone was curious about the new man by my side and they all couldn't wait to talk to Tony. He handled it like a champ and never let his mask slip. If I wouldn't have known the truth, even I could have believed the story about the man who was new in politics and felt honoured to be able to work with me for some time. He charmed everyone around us, it didn't matter if it were women or men. While doing that, he only hinted his political attitude, which also gave him something mysterious. That had been Phil's idea.

I was asked many questions about Robert Smith, as he was called now. How did we meet? Why did I give him the chance to accompany me? Would he be with me on more occasions? Could he even be part of my team in the future? Luckily, we'd thought of the answers to all those questions, so I didn't have any problems at answering them.

Once, a woman mentioned how handsome Tony was, which nearly let my smile falter, but I had myself under control again soon. Later, I wondered why it had bothered me so much that she'd called him handsome. Tony was my bodyguard, nothing else. And besides, I had a boyfriend.

Then it was already time for me to make my speech and all thoughts about Tony were forgotten. All in all, the event was very successful for us. I even got invited to another party in a few days. Since I was free then, I accepted the offer. Tony got also invited which spared us questions why he would accompany me again.

* * *

“ _I can't believe it! Why didn't you tell me about him?_ ” Joe's angry voice asked as soon as I answered the call. It was the morning after the charity gala and I was still in bed.

“What are you talking about?” I muttered, trying to process his words.

“ _That bodyguard!_ ” Joe shouted. “ _Is he even a bodyguard or are you just going to bed with him?_ ”

I sat up and breathed in deeply. “What's going on?” So it was this damn jealousy again.

“ _He's far too handsome to be a bodyguard!_ ”

“Joe, you're being ridiculous. Of course he's one!” I sighed, not wanting to have this conversation now. Or not ever. “And I don't sleep with him!”

“ _You say that now! But I know that you've got a weakness for beautiful men! And he also looks like he can't wait to get into your pants. So did he or not?_ ” What the hell was wrong with him?

“What does that mean, I have a weakness for beautiful men?” I asked, also getting angry now.

“ _I saw the way you looked at him on one of the pictures. You like him!_ ”

I didn't have a look at the pictures yet, but I was sure that I only smiled at Tony like everyone else. “You should breathe in deeply and try to calm down again, Joe. What's wrong with you? Normally, you're not like this!”

“ _Normally, my girlfriend also doesn't have such a playboy around!_ ” He was still shouting angrily.

“Don't talk about him like that!” I hissed. “You know nothing about him.”

“ _I don't want to know anything about him. I want him gone!_ ” He muttered darkly.

“Well, bad luck then, it's not going to happen.” I said simply.

“ _So you_ are _sleeping with him!_ ” He concluded.

I rolled my eyes, even if he couldn't see it. “Stop being stupid. And now bye, it's five in the morning and I want to sleep some more.” Without waiting for a reply, I ended the call and turned my phone off.

With a groan, I sank down onto the mattress again and tried to forget everything about Joe. Until it hit me that he would visit this weekend.

* * *

I tried to hide my annoyance about the things Joe said as good as possible. Luckily, it worked and no one asked questions. At least I hoped that no one noticed it. With Tony, I wasn't so sure. When we had breakfast the morning after the call, he'd frowned and looked at me through narrowed eyes. However, he didn't say anything and I'd been glad about it.

Instead, we discussed the party we were invited to. It would be a big event with lots of important people, just like the charity gala. The only difference was that the press wasn't permitted this time. That wouldn't stop all the reporters from going there, but it wouldn't be too formal. I also wouldn't have to make a speech which I didn't mind.

We were just going through my plans for the day when Tony's phone rang. “I have to answer that.” He muttered and smiled apologetically. “Tony Stark, Stark Industries.” He said politely and stood up, most probably to have some space. “Yes, I have a few minutes. Tell me what's going on.”

I tried not to watch him openly, but I couldn't stop my eyes from wandering to him from time to time. The look on his face darkened more and more while he listened and I wondered who was calling him now. In the end, he sighed. “I can have a look at it, but I won't promise anything. We're on a job right now, I hope you understand this.”

He listened again. “In the next two hours?” He ran a hand through his hair. “Let me see what I can do. I'll mail you what I found.” He ended the call and grimaced. When he noticed that I was watching him, he smiled slightly. “One of our customers. They need help with something, seems to be urgent. I hope you don't mind if I check something? Won't take long.”

“Two hours?” I guessed and he nodded. When he grabbed his laptop, I frowned. “You can do it from here?”

“Of course, won't be a problem.” He was already typing furiously. “They just need information about something...” When he stopped talking and his eyes were scanning the screen, I knew that the conversation was over for now. I watched him for a few more moments before I opened my laptop as well. I could also use the time and work some more. However, I also looked at Tony from time to time. He was so caught up in his work that he didn't even notice me staring at him.

There was a concentrated look on his face and his eyes were slightly narrowed. He bit his lip from time to time or kept whispering something I didn't understand. Sometimes, there was a curse in between. He also ran his hand through his hair from time to time, a gesture I'd often seen by now. And he drank lots of coffee, even more than usual.

It took me some time to be able to focus on my work completely, but then the time seemed to pass rather quickly. When I heard the sound of Tony closing his laptop, only one and a half hours had passed. “Done.” He said and I didn't miss the satisfaction in his voice. “In less than two hours!”

I raised my eyebrows. “Personal challenge?”

He grinned. “Is it that obvious?”

“It was just a good guess.” I lied. But yes, it was that obvious. Tony seemed to see a challenge in many things in life. “I'll be done in an hour, I think. Then we can continue.”

He nodded. “Then I'll call Bucky and see how things are with the letters.” Tony said simply and reached for his phone again. “I'll be in the kitchen, I don't want to distract you from your work.” He said before he left the room.

* * *

It turned out that they didn't find much on the letters by now. Another one had arrived this morning, but Tony's team had it already, which was why we didn't know about it at all. Apparently, Phil had given it to Rhodey while Tony and I had still been asleep. The other three members of Tony's team weren't staying in one of the guest rooms of my house yet. They were living in a small apartment only ten minutes from here Phil had rented for them. In the letter was nothing new, just the usual threats. Together with one that said they would kill me if I won the election.

While he told me this, Tony had looked kind of nervous, but I just shrugged. “We already knew that, didn't we?” I tried to let it sound lightly, but failed. My heart was racing again and I tried to control my fear. No one would harm me, right? Running for President was the right decision, I still believed that.

Tony had looked at me seriously. “Nothing will happen to you, I promise.”

Surprisingly, I believed him.

The party came sooner than expected. This time, only Tony and me would go there. It was a cloudy night and I thought that there would be a storm soon, but I wasn't so sure. I only knew that it was still far too cold for my liking.

The party was in a big house of one of the celebrities in LA. About two hundred people were invited and even I didn't know most of them. I wasn't surprised that Tony didn't seem to be nervous at all, but it could have also been a mask. I wasn't that good at reading him yet. It was getting better slowly, but there was still too much standing between us. For example the fact that Tony didn't like to talk about himself at all.

Since it was so crowded everywhere, Happy decided to wait in the car a few streets away from the building. We should just come to the car afterwards or tell him where to get us. Secretly, I preferred the second option. The streets around the house were dark since there was a problem with the street lamps and we would have to walk through a narrow alleyway. It didn't seem to be a problem for Tony, but I felt uncomfortable about this.

Even if I'd been sceptical at first, the party was nice. People recognized me and asked many questions about my decision to run for President. Sometimes, there were also celebrities who wanted to talk to me. That was a whole new experience. I was also asked to dance a few times, but I declined. I'd never liked dancing in large crowds that much. The women also asked Tony several times, but he also said no. When I asked him about it once, he laughed. “I'm here to protect you, not to enjoy myself.” He'd said simply. “I won't leave you alone here.”

“And if I decide to dance?” I asked back.

“Then I'll watch you closely.” He smiled slightly. “Though I assume you don't want to dance?”

I shook my head. “I can't afford people talking about me having an affair right now.” I explained. “It's uncomfortable enough when someone asks me about Joe.”

For half a second, his expression darkened when I mentioned Joe, but it was gone so fast that I could have also just imagined it. “People will talk about us.” He noted.

“They already know that you're a political partner, nothing else.” I replied simply, though I wasn't so sure about it. A few gossip magazines were already speculating if Tony was my boyfriend.

The conversation about dancing was interrupted when we were approached by someone I knew. I'd met her at university, though she was a scientist now. We talked for a while and it was quite nice. Tony even integrated himself in the conversation and again, I was surprised that he also knew so much about physics. On the other hand, it shouldn't surprise me at all. His dream was to do clean energy, after all.

We left the party around midnight, together with many others. “Seems like Happy won't be able to get us here.” Tony noted and gestured at the traffic jam in front of the house.

I sighed. “Please tell me that there's another way to the car than through that alleyway.”

“Only if you want to walk for about twenty minutes.” Tony looked at the sky. In the distance, we could already hear thunder.

“Alright, but I don't like this at all.” I muttered.

“It will be fine.” He said lightly and we started walking. However, the bad feeling wouldn't leave me. We didn't meet a single person on our way to the car and I already saw it as a good sign. When we were nearly through the alleyway, I heard footsteps behind us.

“Just keep walking.” Tony whispered and placed a hand on my back reassuringly. “Just others who are taking this way as well.”

Just in the moment he said it, another man appeared in front of us and blocked the way out of the small street. We stopped walking and I turned around, just to see two more people behind us. In the dim light, I couldn't see many details about them, but they didn't look like party guests at all. Muscular, tall, clad completely in black. It even looked like one of them was carrying some kind of stick.

My heart was racing in my chest and I started to sweat, even if it was a cold night. I looked at Tony with wide eyes, just to see that he was still completely calm. “Everything's fine, Pepper.” He said softly and looked into my eyes. “Just trust me.”

I nodded, not able to say anything. Was this what real fear felt like?

The men had nearly reached us now and Tony gestured for me to stand close to the wall so he was standing in front of me now. “A nice evening, isn't it?” He asked loudly and the steps of the men faltered for a moment. “You were also at the party?”

At this, the men exchanged looks, but none of them said anything.

Then everything happened too fast. One of them lunged forward, hands clenched to fists. I already expected him to hit Tony, but he dodged away quickly. Instead, he grabbed the arm of the man and sent him to the ground in one fluid movement. In the meantime, another one had nearly reached him and I could see that he was really holding a stick.

“Watch out!” I called in shock, but it wouldn't have been necessary. Apparently, Tony had already seen it coming and sank to his knees. It was good that he did, otherwise, the stick would have hit his head. The man holding it lost his balance and stumbled. Tony used this moment to jump to his feet again and grab the stick with both hands. While they were doing this, the third man had nearly reached them, but Tony had seen it coming. With an angry growl, he jumped out of the way again. The two attackers collided with each other and one of them gasped in pain. Then Tony was already there again and he swung the stick.

It had all happened in less than five minutes and I could only watch in horror. I was shivering now, but I barely noticed it. Had those men really been sent for me?

“Pepper?” Tony's soft voice took me back to reality. He was standing a few feet away from me, both hands raised so I could see that he wasn't holding the stick anymore. There was a careful expression on his face and I noticed that there was blood on his lower lip. I didn't even notice that they'd hit him as well. “Are you alright? You don't have to be afraid anymore. I'm not going to hurt you.”

When he said the last sentence, I realized why he was looking at me like this. He thought that I was afraid of him! Instead of an answer, I wrapped my arms around him tightly and hid my face on his chest. It was the first time we were so close to each other, but I didn't care. A sob build in my throat and I was still shivering uncontrollably. Tony placed his hands on my back hesitantly and whispered calming words.

I breathed in deeply, trying to calm down again and it worked. I'd never noticed before how addicting Tony's scent was and I wouldn't have imagined how good it felt to be held by him. The steady beating of his heart was music to my ears right now.

“I need to call the others.” Tony whispered after some time. “Before they wake up.”

I nodded, but refused to look at our attackers. “Do you want to go to the car?”

“I'll stay with you.” I whispered, not wanting to be alone with Happy right now.

Tony nodded. Luckily, the others arrived soon and we didn't have to wait too long. They also brought the local police. They asked many questions and Tony answered all of them. In the end, Steve and Happy took me home while Tony dealt with those people who attacked us.

That night, I couldn't sleep for a long time. I knew that Steve was next door and nothing would happen to me, but I would have preferred having Tony there. I could still imagine the feeling of his arms around me, his scent and the sound of his heartbeat. I'd never felt better than in this moment, which was completely unlogical. After all, those men wanted to hurt me. But being so close to Tony.. in that moment, nothing else had mattered.

In this moment, I knew for sure that I would trust Tony Stark with my life. All those doubts that had still been on my mind in the past days just vanished. I also knew that I needed to know more about this man. I wanted to see behind his mask and get to know the real Tony. It might not be easy, but I was sure it was worth it.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter! I hope you like it, please let me know what you think!
> 
> I don't own the characters or places!

Pepper

The next morning, I was tired. I barely slept that night and from the looks of it, Steve also didn't get much sleep. Most of the night, he'd kept a look at the door of my bedroom to make sure that I could sleep in peace. He didn't have to do it, but he wouldn't hear any of it. He wanted to make sure that I was fine was all he said. However, I wasn't sure what he'd have done if I'd woken up screaming from a nightmare. Knocked on the door? Or nothing at all? Somehow, I doubted that he knew that himself. Nevertheless, I appreciated the gesture.

To my disappointment, Tony was nowhere to be seen. I was alone with Steve. Maybe Tony was still asleep? He'd accompanied our attackers to the next police station, so it must have been a very long night for him. I really wanted to know what happened, but Steve couldn't tell me anything yet. He also didn't get a message from the others until now.

I was still shocked from the events of the previous night. So all the threats weren't just empty words. Someone wanted to stop me from running for President, no matter what it took. I was sure that those men would have hurt me. Tony had saved me from them. I didn't even get a chance to thank him yet.

I remembered the careful look on his face, right after he'd dealt with the attackers. He'd thought that I was afraid of him after what he'd just done. However, I could never be afraid of Tony. I didn't realize it until now, but it was true. When he'd wrapped his arms around me, I felt many things, but not fear. It just felt... right. Which surprised me. After all, we still didn't really know each other. We were getting there slowly, but it was still a long way. Especially since Tony refused to talk about many things in his life. After last night, I was determined to change that. I wanted to get to know him better. All of him, no matter how difficult that might be.

Now I was sitting at the kitchen table and Steve entered the room. “Do you know where Tony is?” I asked and hoped that he wouldn't notice the hopeful tone of my voice.

“Not here.” Steve said and sat down opposite of me. “I just talked to Bucky. Apparently, they were at the police station nearly the entire night. However, those men didn't say anything. They make it sound like it was a normal robbery.”

I stared at him. “A robbery?”

Steve nodded. “They said that they thought you and Tony were rich party guests and they just wanted your money. No one believes them, though. Unfortunately, we can't prove that something else was behind the attack. Which means that there's nothing we can do.”

I sighed. I should have expected that this attack couldn't be tracked back to the person who was threatening me. However, I couldn't stop feeling disappointed.

“You don't have to worry, we _will_ find whoever is behind all this.” Steve said determinedly.

I smiled at him gratefully. “Thank you, Steve.”

“Don't thank us yet.” Steve said simply. “You can do that when all this is over.” He looked at me questioningly. “Don't you want to have breakfast?”

“I'm not hungry.” I said and it was true. The events of the previous night were still making me feel sick.

Steve didn't look happy about this. “Tony told me to take care of you. That also includes making sure that you eat something.”

I stared at him in surprise. Tony had asked Steve to take care of me? Including making sure that I ate something? I didn't expect that. This didn't fit to the version of Tony I saw most of the time. The self-confident and sometimes even funny man who didn't seem to take many things seriously. But then I thought of the last night again and the serious look on his face... There were many sides of Tony Stark I didn't know yet.

Luckily, Steve hadn't noticed my surprise. He was walking towards the fridge now and looked at the ingredients in there. “I could make you pancakes, if you like that.”

I turned around and frowned at him. “Pancakes?”

Steve smiled sheepishly. “Yes, you don't have much food left, so there's not much I can make of it...”

“No, I mean you don't have to cook for me.” I threw in quickly. Honestly, I couldn't imagine that this man liked to cook.

“It's fine, I want to. I like cooking.” Another surprise for me. I could still learn many things about my bodyguards.

“That's a very unusual hobby for someone like you.” I said before I could stop myself.

Steve chuckled. “It's alright, I hear that all the time.” He grinned. “So pancakes or something else? Though it has to be toast then, I fear.”

“I didn't eat pancakes in years.” I noted.

“Then it's decided.” It only took him a few minutes to feel at home in my kitchen and soon, Steve was busy making breakfast. I watched him, not sure what else I could do. I knew that I had lots of work to do, but I didn't feel like it now. Most probably, it was still the shock from the attack.

“How are you feeling?” Steve asked and ripped me out of my thoughts.

“I'm fine.” I replied automatically. “It's just a lot.”

“Soon, you'll feel better again.” He assured me. “You just need something to eat and some peace.”

I chuckled. “I don't think that I'll get much peace. There's still so much to do before the weekend.” Because this weekend, Joe would visit me here. I could really do without this visit, but I knew that he would come anyway. When I thought of this, I fought the urge to sigh. I knew it would end in disaster when Joe met Tony for the first time.

And just like that, I thought of Tony again. He'd defended me last night. He even told Steve to take care of me. Slowly, I started to realize that I'd been so wrong when I thought that he was a heartless ass the first time I met him.

Then I also remembered the blood on his lip. He'd been hurt during that fight. Suddenly, I started to feel guilty. _I_ was responsible for this.

There was a ringing sound and it took me a few moments to realize that it was my phone which was lying in the living room next door. “I'll just answer the call.” I told Steve.

It was Phil. “ _Virginia, how are you feeling? Tony called and told me what happened last night. You must be terrified._ ”

“Good morning, Phil.” I greeted him. “I'm fine, you don't have to worry. I'm alright, thanks to Tony.”

“ _That's good to know. I was so worried when he said you've been attacked._ ” I could hear the relief in his voice.

“When did Tony call you?” I asked, curious to know this.

“ _About ten minutes ago. They've tried to question the attackers, but it didn't work. They made it sound like -_ ”

“A robbery, I know.” I finished his sentence. “Steve talked to Bucky this morning.”

Phil sighed. “ _I'm afraid that they won't say anything useful. We won't find the one who's responsible for all this through those men._ ”

“I already thought so.” I admitted.

“ _But don't worry, everything will be fine._ ” Phil tried to cheer me up. “ _Soon, we'll leave for the campaign and then it won't be that easy to track you anymore._ ” Or even easier since there was a schedule for my public appearances... “ _You don't have to be scared._ ”

“I'm not scared.” I muttered and it was true. With Tony by my side, I wouldn't get scared. With him, I felt safe.

“ _That's good to hear._ ” Phil said. “ _Will we still meet this afternoon to go through the plan again?_ ”

“Yes, of course. Though I didn't look at the files again this morning.” I explained.

“ _That's alright, we'll just do that together. Try to relax, it will be good for you._ ”

This made me smile. The second person today telling me that I needed some time to calm down. “I'll try.” I promised.

“ _Not trying, doing it._ ” Phil said softly. “ _I have to leave now, there are still a few things left I have to organize. I'll see you later._ ”

“Bye.” I whispered, but he'd already ended the call.

When I went back to the kitchen, I saw that Steve wasn't alone anymore. Tony was sitting on a chair and they were talking about something. Even from the distance I noticed that Tony looked tired. He wasn't wearing the suit from the previous evening anymore but jeans and a dark blue shirt. His hair was a mess, like he'd run his hand through it too many times. I could also see the cut on his lip where he'd been hit. He was paler than usual and when he turned around to look at me, I saw dark rings under his eyes.

However, there was a smile on his lips. “Good morning.” He greeted me and I wasn't sure if I just imagined the insecurity in his voice.

“Good morning.” I smiled and sat down next to him.

“You look tired.” Tony noted.

“You too.” I threw in.

He chuckled. “True. I didn't get much sleep last night.”

“How long were you at the police station?” I asked, not able to suppress my curiosity for now.

“Maybe three or four hours. I lost track of time.” Tony shrugged. “Steve already told you the poor result of our questioning?”

I nodded. “They made it look like it was a robbery.”

Tony grimaced. “There's no way to prove anything else. It was all planned.” It was obvious that this angered him.

“We already knew that they're good, didn't we?” I tried to cheer him up.

“Doesn't make it better.” He muttered. “They nearly attacked you.”

“They didn't.” I argued softly. “Because _you_ were there with me. You saved me.”

“That's my job.” He replied simply.

“Thank you.” This seemed to surprise him since he raised his eyebrows. “For defending me.”

This time, his smile was soft. “Always.” He whispered.

For a few moments, we both smiled at each other silently. I'd never noticed how warm the brown of his eyes was until now. Again, I remembered how close we'd been to each other last night, right after the attack.

The moment was over when Steve placed the pancakes on the table. “Breakfast is ready.” He announced. When I looked at the food on the table, I noticed how hungry I was. Now that Tony was back, I didn't feel that bad anymore. From the looks of it, Tony was hungry as well.

“Steve, I can't tell you often enough that you're a master in the kitchen.” Tony said while we were eating.

“You're really very good at this.” I agreed.

Steve laughed. “Everyone needs something to do next to work. Tony works on computers and other technical stuff, Rhodey is getting a flying license, Bucky does research on historical things and I cook.” He shrugged with a smile.

“You're all so different from each other.” I noted.

“That's what makes us such a good team.” Tony explained. “Everyone has his strengths. We know how to use it to our advantage.” Suddenly, he grinned. “Took us some time, though. Our first jobs were nothing to be proud of.”

“The beginning is always hard, isn't it?” I threw in thoughtfully.

Tony grimaced. “Yeah, but that was really nothing we like to talk about. We swore that we'd never mention it again.”

“It's better this way.” Steve agreed and looked at me curiously. “What do you like in your free time? I think I didn't see you do anything except for work yet.”

When he asked this question, I could feel Tony's eyes on me as well. He'd asked me a few things about my free time when we got to know each other for the job, but he'd never asked like this. I smiled. “It's true, there wasn't much time for myself in the past months. But when I have free time, I love reading or listening to music. It has a calming effect on me. Going on a run is also fun, especially at the beach. Or just being outside and enjoying the nature. There's always so much to see. Well, not at the moment. It's still too cold outside, but I'm sure it'll get warmer soon.”

“You should really take more time for yourself.” Tony noted. “You seem to miss all those things.” His voice sounded thoughtful.

“I do.” I admitted. “But there's not much I can do about it. The job comes first. I knew what I was doing when I decided to go into politics.”

“I'm sure you did.” Tony said with a slight smile. “Doesn't mean that it's healthy to always put the job first.”

“Says the one who even forgets to eat or sleep when he's working.” Steve muttered and when I looked at him, I saw that he was frowning at Tony. I'd always known that work was important for him. The fact that he'd been awake a whole night to install the security system in my house just to make sure that I can move in again as soon as possible proved that. However, I didn't expect him to be this... extreme about it.

“He's exaggerating.” Tony said now. “It's not that bad.”

“Not all the time.” Steve shook his head and stood up. We'd all finished breakfast and he began to clear the table. “I always said that you could need a personal life, Tony.”

“I have one!” Tony threw in.

“Your friends doesn't count. After all, we're also working together.” Steve said without looking at him.

I listened to their conversation silently. What did it mean, Tony not having a private life? That he didn't do many things next to working? And from the way Steve said it, it sounded like Tony was alone most of the time when he wasn't with the others. A small part of me was satisfied hearing this. In the past days, I'd asked myself if he didn't have a girlfriend very often. However, a much bigger part was worried. It was never good to be alone and to work too much. Yes, I was also doing that at the moment, but it was different. I was doing that freely.

“Don't listen to him.” Tony's voice ripped me out of my thoughts. “My life is not that bad.”

I raised my eyebrows. “But you _are_ working very much.” I noted.

He rolled his eyes. “ _You_ have no right to blame me for this, Pepper.”

I chuckled. “Alright, that might be true.”

Now Tony grinned. “Seems like we're both working too much.” Suddenly, his expression changed to worried. “Maybe you should lay down for some time before we leave later? You look really tired.”

“I'll be fine.” I said. “I'll just sit down on the couch or something like that. But _you_ should get some sleep.”

“I'll be fine.” He repeated my words with a gleam in his eyes.

I sighed. “Then at least sit down with me for a while. It will be good for you.”

He hesitated for a few seconds before he nodded. “All right.”

* * *

“Does it hurt?” I asked after we've been sitting on the couch in silence for some time.

“What do you mean?” Tony asked with a frown.

“Your lip. Someone hit you last night.”

“Oh, that.” He ran a hand through his hair. “It will be fine.”

“That doesn't answer my question.” I stated.

He narrowed his eyes, but there was a smile on his lips. “Always so bossy.” He muttered, but then he sighed. “It hurts, yes. But as I said, it won't last for long.”

“I feel like it's my fault.” The words were out before I could stop them. However, it was also a relief to say this. The guilt had been weighing heavily on me.

Tony stared at me. “Don't say that. This is not your fault.” He said seriously. “If anyone is responsible for that, it's the person who is threatening you.”

“But you only got into this situation because you were with me.” I argued.

“It's my job.” He explained and leaned forward to look into my eyes. Only now I realized that I'd avoided his gaze. “I knew that something like this could happen when I agreed to take the job. And the others know it as well.” He smiled. “I know that it's not easy, but you shouldn't blame yourself for something you can't control, Pepper.”

We looked into each other's eyes for some time and slowly, I was able to relax again. Tony was right. There was nothing I could do about the events of the previous night.

“Tell me something about yourself.” I whispered. “You know so much about me by now, but there's so little I know about you. You own this security company, even if your passion is something else. You love working with technology. You're incredibly self-confident and can charm every person within seconds. But that's it.” I looked at him curiously. “I don't know where you are from or what you've done in your youth. Or what you like to do in your free time. I know there must be more than what Steve said. What about your family? Other friends? Did you see more parts of the world than only America?” I hesitated. “Is there someone special in your life?” Actually, I didn't want to ask the last question, but I just had to know it. I couldn't explain why. After all, I was in a relationship and even if I wouldn't have Joe, it could never work between Tony and me. He was my bodyguard and I was only a job to him.

Tony was still smiling at me, but I could literally feel his hesitation at my questions. “Those are many questions.” He noticed and my heart sank when I realized that he didn't want to answer any of them. However, he continued. “Too many for one day. I don't even know where to start.”

Relief washed over me. Was he really going to open up to me? I could see that he wasn't very comfortable with this situation, but honestly, I was just glad that he didn't say no right away.

I smiled at him. “Where are you from? New York?”

Apparently, I'd asked the wrong question right at the beginning. He stiffened, but the smile didn't leave his lips. “Not New York.” He said after a while and leaned back. “I was born here in LA.”

I stared at him. “But didn't you say that you've been here only a few times?”

He sighed. “Look, I don't talk about my youth that much for a reason.” There was a troubled look on his face now and I wasn't sure if I just imagined the pain in his eyes. “It wasn't nice. So yes, I was born in LA, but I left as soon as possible.” He smiled slightly. “Maybe I'll tell you about it someday. But let's just stick with I'm from LA and nothing else, alright?”

I nodded slowly, but my mind was racing. What happened to him here that he showed such a reaction? Who had hurt him? I forced my thoughts away from that subject. “Where did you go from here?”

He relaxed when I changed the subject. “Cambridge. MIT. That's also where I met Rhodey.”

“You've been to MIT?” I asked in surprise and he nodded. “Then you must be really good.”

At this, he laughed. “I _am_ really good!”

I rolled my eyes. For some time, he kept telling me stories about his time at university. I was still surprised that he actually told me something about his past and I listened to what he was saying eagerly. I didn't expect it to be this easy to get to know more about Tony.

“And then you went to New York?” I asked after he'd told me the story how he'd met Rhodey for the first time.

“Not immediately.” He shook his head. “I was in Washington first, then in Miami and for a few months, I've been working in Seattle. But I didn't feel at home in all those cities, so I moved to New York. There, I got to know Steve. Rhodey was also in the city. One evening, we met in a bar and talked. In the end, we'd decided to work together from now on. That's how Stark Industries was born.” He grinned. “Bucky joined us a few months after that.”

“Why did you never get more employees?” I asked.

“It's better to work in a small team you trust.” Tony explained. “Steve had another friend who wanted to join us, his name's Chris. But he just didn't fit in, it wasn't working. Don't get me wrong, he's a nice guy, but doesn't understand much about technology and we're dealing with that a lot.” He grimaced. “Maybe we also didn't get along well all the time.”

“What did you do?” I raised my eyebrows.

He looked at me innocently. “Why do you just assume that I did something?”

I smiled slightly. “Intuition. So what did you do?”

He chuckled. “I might have called him Point Break. He wasn't thrilled by that.”

At this, I couldn't stop myself from laughing. “Point Break? Seriously?”

“And maybe also Thor. You know, this god from the comics.”

“You're impossible.” I muttered, but since I was still laughing, it didn't sound very seriously. Tony joined my laughter.

“You should have seen his face.”

“I can already imagine that.” So I wasn't the only one who got a bad nickname. On the other hand, I was slowly getting used to Tony calling me Pepper...

“There are two others who are helping us from time to time. One of them is called Bruce. He's also a scientist, but more into the medical direction. And Tom. If you need an expert in illusions, he's the one. I use to call him Loki. You know, god of mischief.” He grinned. “He likes that name.”

“You've really got a thing with nicknames, don't you?” I noted with a slight smile.

“Yeah. Well, Rhodey was easy. Bucky was invented by Steve, by the way, not my idea.”

“And what do you call Steve? I've never heard you say anything except for his name.”

“Sometimes, I call him Cap.” Tony explained.

“Captain America?” I guessed.

He raised his eyebrows in surprise. “You don't seem like a comic fan.”

“I'm not. But Daisy is crazy about those things.” I smiled. “When we were younger, she wouldn't stop telling me stories about all this.”

Tony laughed. “You remember many things about them if it didn't interest you at all.”

“I've got a good memory.” I said simply. “So then you founded Stark Industries.”

He nodded. “It was a long way to where we are now, but we managed it.”

“And what are you doing next to work?” I still couldn't stop my curiosity about this man. The more I got to know about him, the more fascinating he became. And I loved listening to the sound of his voice.

He smiled slightly. “Far too many questions for one day.” I was already feeling disappointed that he wanted to stop now, but then he sighed. “Alright, this one question. You already know that I love inventing things. I also like to go running. And travelling, though that's not easy with the job. I can't just vanish for a few weeks. Music, yes, though I doubt that we like the same genres. Enjoying the nature...” He grimaced. “Sitting on the beach and looking at the sunset, yes. Hiking for days on end? No, thanks.”

Somehow, this was just what I'd expected. There were so many other questions I wanted to ask, but slowly, I was feeling really tired. I knew that I should get more sleep before we had to leave later. From the looks of it, Tony could also use some sleep. However, there was one more question I needed to be answered now.

“And is there someone special in your life?” My voice was barely a whisper.

He smiled at me. “No, just me, myself and I.” He answered quietly. “I've been alone for a long time by now.”

I already wanted to ask more, but now that the tension was vanishing from my body slowly, I couldn't keep my eyes open anymore. “Sleep, Pepper.” Tony whispered and that's what I did.

**Author's Note:**

> Please let me know what you think, that would be awesome! :)


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